Strategy Bites Back
By: Henry Mintzberg
“To See or Not to See”
We really liked this first quote about what happens when a person gets inspired by a vision. It’s like nothing else matters- all you can think of is accomplishing your goals that you have set to get your vision to come to fruition. We thought the author described those feelings very well and it was clear that he has had come visions himself that he has been working on.
The second quote upset us. It seems like maybe that communications executive needs to understand his industry better or find a new job. It’s completely understandable to feel like you can’t see well because no one can see the future. But it was the part about forgetting where he’s going and eating grass that bothered me. Having your plans change down the road or having to turn around is understandable but stopping to eat grass just seems like he gave up. Or, maybe we’re just not understanding the analogy.
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“Imaging Strategy” By: Henry Mintzberg & Frances Westley
It’s hard for us to understand if the authors think vision and imagery are important to a strategy or if they are being sarcastic. They were right on target when talking about the recognizable logos such as GM and that is important (in my opinion). The authors seem to think that when a company gets too ‘stylish’ then they start to lose their focus. That they are spending too much time in their exterior and not enough time on the interior, which of course would make them a weaker company. In our opinion a balanced focus on both the interior and the exterior is what makes a company successful. Especially if they can look backwards and forwards too!
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“Strategic Thinking as Seeing” By: Henry Mintzberg
Our group did a presentation a few weeks ago and we used this model.think it is one of the more valuable models we have learned about in class. This model can be applied to any industry, and discipline, any organization. It is so important to be able to not just see the obvious thing in front of you, but also see behind you. You have to be able to be watching beside of you, which would be watching your competitors and understanding what they are doing. In order to make yourself more resilient and more successful as a company you have to always be looking 360 degrees around you. Strategic seeing is a strategy that every company should employ.
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“Seeing a Symphony” By: Mozart
We love this quote from my favorite composer, Mozart. It seems like anyone who creates anything should be able to relate to this quote. Mozart created beautiful symphonies, an artists creates paintings, and a business man creates a strategy. A good strategy requires an attentive eye to notice all the details and to care about the final product. With out this specified attention a strategy is more likely to fail. But, like an artist, a manager can’t be too afraid of failure. Neither one knows how their work is going to turn out and both could flop, but it’s important to try nonetheless.
As with a symphony a strategy can change over time, and sometimes that is necessary for it to be a success.
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“The Problem With Problems” By: Smullyan
We loved this ‘byte’ because we feel like it has a lot of truth to it. If a problem is not brought to your attention, then you don’t have to deal with it- you don’t even know it exists. Or, you may not even think of something as bad unless someone calls it that. Once again, it all comes back to perspective. One man’s problem may be another man’s success.
The idea of this byte makes us aware that we need to be careful what we deem a problem. Maybe we should call them ‘issues’ or ‘situations’. At least until we are sure that they really are problems- innocent until proven guilty!
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“‘Marketing Myopia’ Myopia” By: Henry Mintzberg
This article had a lot to do with branding. It started off talking about the way you position your organization and portray yourself to your customers will predict how well you do. For example, there is a large difference between selling buggy whips and self-starters for carriages. Of course the two items are exactly the same, but the point is that it’s all about perspective. Many people have latched on to this school and have put a lot of emphasis on marketing because of it. But, Henry Mintzberg tends to disagree. His thought is that no matter how your company is described on paper, it won’t matter if you can’t really pull through with it. So, he suggests taking the focus off of marketing and putting it back on the function of the organization.
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“Recognizing the CEO as Artist” By: Patricia Pitcher
This short byte is another look at strategy as an art form. She is quick to recognize that CEO that tend to be dreamers and have a strong creative side either have best friends or enemies. It’s hard to be in the middle with an issus like strategy. Some like it creative, some like it structured, and it’s very hard to be one both sides, if not impossible. This author makes no mention as to which side is better, but you can tell her bias in every word.
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“Reflections of an Entrepreneur” By: Richard Branson
We really liked this section because it was advice right from the mouth of a successful entrepreneur. Branson has taken his company, Virgin enterprises, to many places and so his advice is well worth listening to. Most of this advice have heard before, but Branson puts a new spin on it. The tidbit that stuck with me the most was the point he made about himself doing all the market research before making a new investment. This seems like a good idea because if too many people are doing it, then the CEO may get too many opinions mixed in with the facts.
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“Entrepreneurship and Planning” By: Amar Bhide
This article surprised us because couldn’t believe how many businesses didn’t start off with a well formulated business plan. We are taught in all of our business classes that a plan is a must, but yet so many have flourished without them! In a way,can see how business plans change as the climate changes so having a business plan would be hard to follow so early in the business-starting process. If you are an educated business person with experience starting a business, then a well thought out plan may just be a hindrance.
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“Managing Quietly” By: Henry Mintzberg
This article reminded me a lot of the article my group presented on in class about how effective leaders need to be more than charismatic. That article made the point that many leaders have big dreams and big ideas to make them reality, but a lot of times that is not always effective. Both that article and this one instead suggest that effective management is not something that is particularly attractive or fun. Instead, most times it is down right boring.
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“What My Mother Taught Me About Strategy” By: Joseph Lampel
This has definitely been my favorite byte so far. In most of the other articles we have read have been marked with traditional and predictable thoughts about strategy. Anytime you read anything that’s not focused on the traditional, it’s considered radical or even risky. But really, is there any tradition in strategy? We believe Joe’s mom did exactly the right kind of strategy- doing her best with what she had. She had a great business sense and used it well. If she had listened to the traditional strategy her son was studying, she may have never gotten to where she is today.