Strategic leadership - managing

the strategy making process

1

Chapter overview
This topic introduces the key concepts related to strategy and the role leaders play in the strategy
development process.
Businesses face many challenges both externally (at an industry level and at a national/global
level), and internally (staff, processes, finance, and so forth). The current business climate is
rapidly changing, pushing organisations to continually adjust and innovate to compete
successfully. Strategies are developed to respond to external pressures or as a result of goals
defined by top managers. At the same time, the strategy development process continues to
become more democratic, involving more levels within the organisation.
Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that at some point in your career you will either be leading
or working as part of a strategy development team.
Strategic management today needs professionals with a blend of analytical mindsets,
communication skills, and strategic thinking. Managers need to be able to work as part of a team
to identify what needs to be done, not just to take advantage of the strengths of the company
and reduce internal weaknesses. Managers also need to identify potential business opportunities
as well as external threats that might pose a risk to the future growth of the company.
This topic is divided into four sub-topics:
• What is meant by competitive advantage?
• Primary steps in a strategic planning process and the key players in the process
• Handling strategic planning pitfalls
• The role strategic leaders play in the planning process
Theoretical knowledge will be enriched using case studies.
1

Learning outcomes
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
• Develop an understanding of what is meant by competitive advantage.
• Recognise the primary steps in a strategic planning process and the key players in the
process.
• Critically evaluate the common pitfalls of planning and be able to assess how these can be
avoided.
• Appreciate and evaluate the role strategic leaders play in the planning process.
1
 Chapter summary
Strategy is about creating sustained competitive advantages. This is the ultimate goal of any
business strategy. However, in order to deal with complex business challenges faced by today’s
firms, the process of developing a strategy not only requires intuition and vision, but also a logical
and methodological approach to deeply analyse the business environment and critically evaluate
strategic options.
For example, climate change has brought many strategic challenges to the oil and gas industry.
Since the signature of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, the process to move away
from fossil fuels to other sources of energy has sped up, bringing huge pressures to the oil sector.
Oil companies such as Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, and Total have been re-defining their strategies to
survive in a new business environment where sustainability has become paramount; top and
middle management are required to develop these strategies.
The basic strategy development process includes a range of different activities such as defining
goals, analysing the company’s external environment, assessing internal resources and
capabilities, understanding stakeholders’ expectations, and so forth. The fundamental role of
managers is to devise a strategy by facilitating the process of strategy development across the
organisation. They need to have the relevant skill set to ensure successful development of
strategies. In addition, specific management behaviours which are derived from good leadership
and management skills should also be encouraged and fostered to ensure key members in the
organisation are involved in the strategy development process.
In this topic we discuss the following questions:
• How does business strategy help develop a sustainable competitive advantage?
• What are the main approaches to developing business strategy?
• What are the key steps to developing a business strategy?
• Who are the key players and their roles in the development of business strategy?
• How to identify and handle the main pitfalls of strategic planning
1

Context section
Strategic thinking is one of the core attributes managers need to develop in the 21st century
(Stobierski, 2020). Strategic thinking is related to analytical skills, communication skills, problem-
solving skills, and planning and management skills. Of these, problem-solving and critical thinking
were at the top of the list of required skills in 2020 (World Economic Forum, 2016). In a McKinsey
study on re-skilling to address the talent gap, critical thinking and management skills also
occupied the top of the list (McKinsey 2020).

(World Economic Forum, 2016)

Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process 2

 (McKinsey, 2020)

In addition to being a core capability, strategic thinking - and as an extension, strategic

management - are fundamental skills required to approach and develop successful strategies in
rapidly changing local and global markets. Technology disruptions, economic uncertainties and
climate change are few of the many forces shaping the current and future business climate, and
which pose difficult challenges to top management of firms.
As a result, managers should be able to approach complex business problems with a logical and
analytical approach to problem solving.
This topic introduces you to the main strategic planning concepts, approaches, methodologies,
and tools widely used and applied in modern corporations and businesses to develop strategies.
Read the content in this workbook carefully and go through the learning material which is
comprised of a mix of readings, videos, and case studies. The case studies are important as they
help you understand the theoretical concepts which are applied in real life.

3 Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process

 1 What is meant by competitive advantage?
1.1 Strategy and competitive advantage
Strategy is about winning. Strategy is not a detailed plan or programme of activities; it is a
unifying theme that gives coherence and direction to the action and decision of an organisation.
There are many definitions of strategy depending on the field of human endeavour. However, all
successful business strategies show four common factors that stand out (Grant, 1998):

Adapted from: (Grant, 1998)

• Consistent and long-term goals: focused organisations with clear and well-defined goals.
• Profound understanding of the competitive environment: strategies designed around a deep
and insightful appreciation of the arena in which firms are competing.
• Objective appraisal of resources: effective strategies exploit internal strengths while protecting
areas of weakness.
• Effective implementation: established organisations are well-structured for effective strategy
implementation.
The ultimate outcome of a business strategy is to develop competitive advantages for the
organisation. One definition of competitive advantage can be understood as (Twin, 2021):

“Factors that allow a company to produce goods or services better or more cheaply than its
rivals. These factors allow the productive entity to generate more sales or superior margins
compared to its market rivals.”
Therefore, competitive advantage is the ability of the firm to outperform rivals in primary
performance goals and profitability. When this ability is not simultaneously being developed by
any current or potential competitors, and when these other firms are unable to duplicate the
benefits in the long-term, then the firm has developed a sustained competitive advantage.

1.2 Sources of competitive advantage

The sources of sustained competitive advantage are internal to the company. Changes in the
external environment of a company can create competitive advantage but they tend to be for a
limited period. A typical example is exchange rates. A sudden movement in the exchange rate
between two countries can temporarily improve the competitive position of an exporting
company. One example is Brexit. After the referendum in June 2016, the sterling dropped in value
from €1.32 against the euro, and $1.50 against the dollar before Brexit, to as low as €1.20 and
$1.32 respectively. This made holidays abroad and imported goods more expensive but UK exports
cheaper: a clear competitive advantage for local producers.
Whether a firm has a sustained competitive advantage depends on the business model that it has
developed in relation to its business environment. A business model is the configuration of
resources (input), activities (throughput), and product/service offerings (output) intended to
create value for customers – it is basically the way a firm conducts its business (De Wit, 2020).

Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process 4

 (De Wit, 2020, Figure 4.1)

To create a sustained competitive advantage, alignment must be achieved between all three
elements of a business model:
• A firm’s ‘product offering’ needs to be targeted at a particular segment of the market and have
a superior mix of attributes (e.g., price, availability, reliability, technical specifications, image,
colour, taste, ease of use, and so forth).
• A successful company must also be able to develop and supply the superior product offering.
It needs to have the capability to perform the necessary value-adding activities in an effective
and efficient manner.
• A business model consists of the resource base required to perform the value-adding activities.
If these firm-specific assets are distinctive and useful, they can form the basis of a superior
value proposition.

1.3 Types of competitive advantage

A firm can achieve a higher rate of profit over a rival in one of two ways: it can supply either an
identical product or service at a lower cost, or it can supply a product or service that is
differentiated in such a way that the customer is willing to pay a premium price for it. In the
former case, the firm possesses a cost advantage, in the latter, a differentiation advantage. In
pursuing a cost advantage, the goal of the firm is to become the cost leader in its industry or
industry segment. Differentiation from their competitors is achieved by a firm when it provides
something unique that is valuable to buyers beyond simply offering a low price.
By combining the two types of competitive advantage with the firm’s choice of scope - broad
market versus narrow market - Michael Porter (1998) defined three generic strategies: cost
leadership, differentiation, and focus.

(Porter, 2008)

5 Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process

 The table below shows some key features of cost leadership and differentiation strategies:
(Grant, 1998)

Generic strategy Key strategy elements Resource and

Cost leadership • Scale-efficient plants
• Design for manufacture
• Control of overheads and
R&D
• Avoidance of marginal
customer accounts
organisational
requirements
• Access to capital
• Process engineering skills
• Frequent reports
• Tight cost control
• Specialisation of jobs and
functions
• Incentives for quantitative
targets

Differentiation Emphasis on: • Marketing abilities

• Branding • Product engineering skills
• Advertising • Creativity
• Design • Research capability
• Service • Qualitative performance
targets and incentives
• Quality
• Strong inter-functional
coordination

2 Primary steps in a strategic planning process and the

key players in the process
2.1 Levels of strategy development
Inside an organisation, strategies can exist at different levels, made for different groups of people
or activities (De Wit, 2020). There are mainly four levels of aggregation found in organisations
depending on its size and complexity:

(De Wit, 2020)

Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process 6

 • Functional strategy is the lowest level and related to strategies which deal with questions
regarding specific functional aspects of a company (operations strategy, marketing strategy,
financial strategy, and so forth).
• The next level, business strategy, requires the integration of functional level strategies for a
distinct set of products and/or services intended for a specific group of customers. For
example, if a company operates in one such business, this is the highest level of aggregation.
• Corporate strategy is required for companies with two or more businesses. In such cases, a
multi-business or corporate level strategy is required which aligns the various business level
strategies.
• The highest level is the network strategy. Firms often cluster together into groups of two or
more collaborating organizations. Most multi-company groups consist of only a few parties, as
is the case in strategic alliances, joint ventures, and value-adding partnerships.

2.2 Strategy process: intended versus realised

The design approach to strategy views strategic decision making as a logical process in which
strategy is formulated through rational analysis of the firm’s performance and external
environment.

(Mintzberg et al., 1987)

Such a picture is mostly unrealistic (Grant, 1998). The process of strategy development is less
structured, more diffused, and the division between formulation and implementation is less
apparent. Mintzberg (1987) defined ‘Intended Strategy’ as conceived of by the top management
team. Even here, rationality is limited, and the intended strategy is the result of a process of
negotiation, bargaining, and compromise involving many individuals and groups within the
organisation. However, the ‘Realised Strategy’ that we observe tends to be only a fraction of the
intended strategy. The primary determinant of a firm’s realised strategy is the emergent strategy:
the patterns of decisions that emerged from individual managers adapting to changing external
circumstances, and the ways in which the intended strategy was interpreted.

2.3 Strategic planning process: main steps

Traditional cyclical strategic planning is a structured, logical process of analysis, evaluation, and
implementation, often linked to the budget cycle and long-term formal processes within the
company.

7 Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process

 Adapted from: (Gerry, 2017)

The strategic planning process starts with the mission/vision of the business. From these, long-
term goals are set. Hence, the chosen strategy should guide the business on its way to fulfilling
both the vision and/or mission.
In the next step, a detailed analysis is conducted:
• An external analysis is performed to assess opportunities and threats.
• An internal appraisal is performed to identify strengths and weaknesses.
There are many models and tools used for internal and external strategic analysis, e.g., PESTLE,
Porter’s Five Forces, Porter’s Value Chain, Industry Lifecycle. A popular tool for summarising
analysis results is the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).
This analysis limits the business’s strategic areas available to work on. These areas should address
the strengths the firm can use to exploit market opportunities and to protect against risky threats,
as well as work out its weaknesses.
Based on this information, the business can develop several strategic options. Some of the best
tools available to assess the strategic options are Ansoff’s Matrix, the Boston Consulting Group
Matrix, and Porter’s Generic Strategies.
The strategy selection process should evaluate options based on their:
• Suitability (do they address the most relevant external trends, opportunities, and threats?)
• Feasibility (does the business have the necessary capabilities and resources?)
• Acceptability (is it aligned with the vision and mission?)
The process followed by many companies after beginning strategy implementation includes
regular reviews of business performance measurements based on clearly defined key
performance indicators (KPIs). For example, in its 2019 Annual Report webpage, Adidas describes
its strategy performance objectives as: achieve top-line growth significantly above industry
average; win significant market share across key categories and markets; improve our profitability
sustainably, and deliver on our commitment to increase shareholder returns.
The outcomes of these reviews are used to adjust the strategy. However, the overall strategy
should remain valid for at least a medium term.

2.4 Alternative approaches to strategy development

The following section describes three alternatives approaches to strategy development:
(a) Emergent strategies (eg agile strategy)
(b) Blue ocean strategy
(c) Balanced Scorecard

Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process 8

2.4.1 Emergent strategies
Traditional strategic planning is a typical example of deliberate strategy – the desired strategic
direction deliberately planned by managers as a result of planning systems carried out
objectively and dispassionately.
Mintzberg (1978) recognises that an organisation can find itself in a steady environment for a long
period of time without the need to change its strategy. But, sometimes, the environment can
become turbulent meaning that even the best planning techniques are useless because of the
high level of unpredictability. The emergent approach recognises that strategy making is
dynamic, very changeable, and has a high degree of both uncertainty and complexity.
Emergent strategy is the product of trial and error through everyday work (Mintzberg, 1987).
Emergent strategies are the result of the emergence of opportunities and threats in the
environment.
Mintzberg’s ideal is for these two forms of strategy formulation, deliberate and emergent, to be in
balance; a company might experiment with some developments, find a combination that seems
to work (emergent strategy), then refine it into a plan and formalise it. At that point, it becomes a
deliberate strategy.
An example of emergent strategies is ‘Agile Strategy.’
Agile strategy
An agile approach to strategy capitalises on agile procedures, mindsets, and ceremonies widely
used in agile software development (Huque, n.d.). Agile strategic management entails developing
and adjusting strategies, products, services, and operations as needed based on live data and
new insights: strategic opportunities are discussed, evaluated, broken down into sizable and
manageable constituents, prioritized, executed, constantly monitored, and revised.
The agile approach creates strategic agility in organisations, that is, the capacity to sense
change in the environment and adapt in a way that continuously builds value for the customer
(Montgomery, 2018).
• Advantages:
- Big picture
- Constant re-evaluation of strategic plans
- Useful for companies that are growing quickly and/or adapting to new competitive
environments (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity)
- Responsive to quickly changing customer expectations
- More entrepreneurial
- Open to opportunities
- Can promote innovation
- Alert to new technologies
- Can promote disruptive patterns
- Investment motivated by value creation rather than work that fulfils a long-term plan;
budgeting is flexible
- Quicker to spot opportunities.
• Disadvantages:
- Management dynamics: managers accustomed to a planning and controlling environment
may find operations in an agile environment difficult
- Needs an open company structure
- Requires innovation, not process, to be rewarded
- Can be impacted negatively by other company processes

9 Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process

2.4.2 Blue ocean strategy
Kim and Mauborgne (2005) describe red and blue oceans as follows:
• Red oceans are all the industries in existence today – the known market space. In red oceans,
industry boundaries are defined and accepted, and the competitive rules of the game are
known.
• Blue oceans, in comparison, denote all the industries not in existence today – the unknown
market space, untainted by competition. In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought
over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid.
Blue Ocean Strategy is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost to open up a new
market space and create new demand. It is about creating and capturing uncontested market
space, thereby making the competition irrelevant. It is based on the view that market boundaries
and industry structure are not a given and can be reconstructed by the actions and beliefs of
industry players (Kim and Mauborgne, 2005).
Kim and Mauborgne argue that there are three key components in successful Blue Ocean
Strategic Shift (Denning, 2017):
• Mindset
The authors found that, as in the world of agile management, Blue Ocean Strategy is
fundamentally a shift in mindset. It involves expanding mental horizons and shifting
understanding of where opportunity lies. Blue Ocean mindset is a perspective that enables
strategists to ask a fundamentally different set of questions, the answers to which in turn
enable them to perceive and appreciate the fallacies behind long-held assumptions and the
artificial boundaries we unknowingly impose on ourselves.
• Tools
Successful implementers of Blue Ocean Strategy have used practical tools to systematically
translate Blue Ocean thinking into commercially compelling new offerings. Sporadic, one-off
Blue Ocean Strategy is one thing, systematically adopting Blue Ocean thinking is another.
• Human-ness
Successful implementers exemplify a humanistic process, which inspires people’s confidence to
own and drive the process for effective execution.

2.4.3 Balanced Scorecard

The Balanced Scorecard is a methodology developed by Kaplan and Norton (1996) which
translates mission and strategy into tangible objectives and measures. Measures represent a
balance between external measures for shareholders and customers, and internal measures for
critical business processes, innovation, and learning and growth. The Balanced Scorecard
provides a strategic management system to manage the strategy over the long run, helping to
focus management efforts on critical processes such as to:
• Clarify and translate vision and strategy
• Communicate and link strategy objectives and measures
• Plan, set targets, and align strategic initiatives
• Enhance strategic feedback and learning

Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process 10

 The Balanced Scorecard is a framework for describing strategies for creating value. Four
perspectives are used to describe strategy.

Perspective Description
Financial perspective How do we look to shareholders? Financial
performance, a lag indicator, describes how
strategies create sustainable value to
shareholders.

Customer perspective How do customers see us? Views

organisational performance from the
perspective of the customers or key
stakeholders the organisation aims to serve.

Internal process perspective What must we excel at? Internal processes

create and deliver the value proposition for
customers. As a leading indicator, internal
process objectives describe how the
organisation intends to improve customer and
financial performance.

Learning and growth perspective
Can we continue to improve and create value?
Intangible assets are the ultimate source of
sustainable value creation. Learning and
growth objectives describe how people,
technology and organisation climate combine
to support the strategy.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Strategy map: The four-perspective model for describing an organisation’s value-creating

strategy provides a language that executive teams can use to discuss the direction and priorities
of their firms (Kaplan and Norton, 2004). They can view their objectives, not as performance
indicators in four perspectives, but as a series of cause-and-effect linkages among objectives. A
Strategy Map is a visual representation of the cause-and-effect relationships among the
components of an organisation’s strategy.

2.5 Strategy formation roles

Roles in the strategy formation process can vary as tasks and responsibilities are divided in
alternative ways (De Wit, 2020).

11 Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process

 Roles Responsibilities
Top vs middle vs bottom roles • Activities are divided among members of
the top management team.
• Other activities are delegated to divisional
managers, business unit managers, and
department managers.
• It is more common to see participation by
people lower in the organisation in
activities such as external and internal
assessment, and option regeneration.
• Top management generally retain the
responsibility for selecting, or at least
deciding on, which strategic option to
follow.

Line vs staff roles • Responsible for achieving results.

• Often given the responsibility to
participate in conceiving the strategies
they will have to realise.
• Staff members are recruited specifically for
roles in the strategy formation process
(e.g., Corporate Strategy Manager).

Internal vs external roles • Outsiders are recruited to perform

‘outsourced’ activities such as diagnosis
activities, or to facilitate the strategy
formation process in general.
• Some organisations have external
consultants engaged in all aspects of the
process.

3 Handling common pitfalls of strategic planning

Formalised strategic planning can be very useful in various ways:
• It can provide a structured means of analysis and thinking about complex strategic problems.
• It encourages long-term thinking and commitment.
• It can be used as a way of involving people in strategic development and therefore helps
create ownership of the strategy.
• It may also help to communicate intended strategy.
• It can be used as a means of control by regularly reviewing performance and progress against
agreed objectives.

Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process 12

 However, there may be dangers in the formalisation of strategic planning (Gerry, 1997). Common
pitfalls include:
• Strategies are successfully implemented through people. Their behaviour will not be
determined by plans so the cultural and political dimensions of organisations must be taken
into account. Planning processes are not typically designed to do this.
• The strategy resulting from deliberations of a corporate planning department, or a senior
management team may not be owned widely in the organisation.
• The manager responsible for the implementation of the strategy, usually the line manager,
may be so busy with the day-to-day operations of the business that they cede responsibility
for strategic issues to specialists. However, specialists do not have the power to make things
happen. This may result in strategic planning becoming an intellectual exercise removed from
the reality of operations.
• The process of strategic planning may be so cumbersome that individuals or groups in the firm
might contribute to only part of it and not understand the whole picture.
• There is a danger that strategy becomes thought of as the plan. Managers may see
themselves as managing strategy because they are going through the process of planning.
Strategy is not the same as a plan. The strategy is the long-term direction the organisation is
following, not a written document on an executive shelf which leads to the difference between
intended and realised strategy.
• Strategy planning can become over detailed in its approach, concentrating on extensive
analysis which may miss the major strategic issues faced by the organisation. Planning can
become obsessed with the research for absolute determinants of performance, or a definitely
“right” strategy. However, it is unlikely that a right strategy will somehow naturally fall out of
the planning process. It might be more important to establish a more generalised strategic
direction within which there is flexibility.
• The process and the associated tools cannot keep up with the pace of change in the business
environment. This will lead to lagging results.
• The resulting strategic plan may be too inflexible for today’s pace of change.

4 The role strategic leaders play in the planning process

The classic definition of leadership hasn’t changed over time. Leadership is the process of
influencing an organisation (or group within an organisation) in its efforts towards achieving an
aim or goal (Stodgill, 1950). Without effective leadership, the risk is that people in an organisation
are unclear about its purpose or lack motivation to deliver the strategy to achieve it.
While leading strategic planning is often associated with top management and chief executives, in
practice, it typically involves managers at different levels of an organisation with different roles
(Gerry, 2017):

4.1 Top managers

There are three key roles that are argued to be especially significant for top management,
especially CEOs, in leading strategic planning and change:
• Envisioning future strategy. Effective strategic leaders at the top of an organisation need to
ensure that a clear and compelling vision of the future exists. They must clearly communicate
a strategy to achieve it both internally, and to external stakeholders.
• Aligning the organisation to deliver that strategy. This involves ensuring that people in the
organisation are committed to the strategy, motivated to make the changes needed, and
empowered to deliver those changes.
• Embodying change. A strategic leader will be seen by others, not least those within the
organisation, but also other stakeholders and outside observers, as intimately associated with
a future strategy and a strategic change programme.

13 Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process

4.2 Middle managers
A top-down approach to managing strategy sees middle managers as implementers of top
management strategic plans. However, middle managers have multiple roles in relation to the
management of strategy:
• Advisers to more senior management on requirements for change within an organisation. This
is because they are often the closest to indications of market or technological changes that
might signal the need for change.
• ‘Sense making’ of strategy. Top management may set a strategic direction, but how it is
explained and made sense of in specific contexts (e.g., a region of a multinational, or a
functional department) may, intentionally or not, be left to middle managers.
• Reinterpretation and adjustment of strategic responses as events unfold (e.g., in terms of
relationships with customers, suppliers, the workforce, and so on).
• Local leadership of change. Middle managers therefore have the roles of aligning and
embodying change, as do top management, but at a local level.

4.3 Changing roles for strategising managers

Most management practices were initiated in the 19th century and, according to Mintzberg (1987),
many managers still function in that manner. However, managers nowadays need to become
“creators of environments” that will allow their companies to achieve competitive advantage.
Modern strategy planning needs flexible leadership with emotional intelligence. Leaders must be
recast as social-systems architects who enable innovation and collaboration.
Management must also orient itself to the achievement of noble, socially significant, sustainable
strategic goals.
It is possible to argue that by developing an understanding of competitive advantages,
recognising the primary steps and key players in the strategic planning process, and evaluating
and avoiding the common pitfalls, we can appreciate and evaluate the role strategic leaders play
in the planning process.

Essential reading

To assist with your learning journey, it is important that you read the following to give you
knowledge of this topic:
De Wit, B. (2020) Strategy: an international perspective. 7th ed. Andover: Cengage Learning.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Strategising
Chapter 3: Missioning and Visioning
Chapter 4: Business level strategy:
• The issue of competitive advantage
• Perspectives on business level strategy
• Readings: 4.1 and 4.2
Strategy formation:
• Perspectives on strategy formation
• The issue of realised strategy
• Strategy formation roles

Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process 14

References

Adidas (2019) Annual Report 2019. Corporate Strategy page. Available at: https://report.adidas-
group.com/2019/en/group-management-report-our-company/corporate-strategy.html [Accessed
19/03/2021]
Chan, K. and Mauborgne, R. (2005) Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market
Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant. Harvard Business School Press:Boston.
Denning, S. (2017) Moving To Blue Ocean Strategy: A Five-Step Process To Make The Shift, Forbes,
24/09/2017. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2017/09/24/moving-to-blue-
ocean-strategy-a-five-step-process-to-make-the-shift/
De Wit, B. (2020) Strategy: an international perspective. 7th ed. Cengage Learning. Andover.
Gerry, J. and Scholes, K. (1997) Exploring Strategy. Pearson Education Limited.
Gerry, J., Whittington R., Regnér, P., Scholes, K. and Angwinand D. (2017) Exploring Strategy,
Pearson Education Limited.
Grant, R. (1998) Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Bracknell Publisher Inc.
Huque, D. (n.d.) Agile Strategy Management – Part I. Author. Available at:
https://www2.deloitte.com/de/de/pages/technology/articles/agile-strategy-management.html
[Accessed 19/03/2021]
Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. (1996) Balanced Scorecard. Harvard Business School Press.
Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. (2004) Strategy Maps. Harvard Business School Press
McKinsey & Company (2020) Beyond hiring: How companies are reskilling to address talent gaps.
Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/beyond-
hiring-how-companies-are-reskilling-to-address-talent-gaps [Accessed 19/03/2021]
Mintzberg, H. (1978) Patterns in Strategy Formation. Management Science, 24, p934-948
Mintzberg, H. (1987) The Strategy Concept I: Five Ps for Strategy. California Management Review
Montgomery, D. (2018) Start Less, Finish More: Building Strategic Agility with Objectives and Key
Results. Agile Strategies Press
Porter, M. (1998) Competitive Strategy. The Free Press.
Stobierski, T. (2020) 4 WAYS TO DEVELOP YOUR STRATEGIC THINKING SKILLS. Available at:
https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/how-to-develop-strategic-thinking-skills [Accessed 19/03/2021]
Stodgill, R. (1950) Leadership, membership and organization. Psychological Bulletin, vol. 47
Twin, A. (2021) Competitive Advantage. Available at:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/competitive_advantage.asp [Accessed 17/03/2021]
World Economic Forum (2016) The 10 skills you need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-10-skills-you-need-to-thrive-in-the-
fourth-industrial-revolution/ [Accessed 19/03/2021]

15 Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process

Further study guidance

Further reading
You need to do your own research to apply the concepts presented above to the assessment task
for this topic.
In addition, see below further readings, case studies, and articles which will help you gain a
deeper knowledge of this topic.
It is highly recommended that you do some of your own research into project successes and
failures, and reasons why.
List of Additional Resources (also detailed in the Additional Reading and Videos):
Subtopic 1: What is Competitive Advantage?
Emerald Group Publishing Limited (2013) So, what is competitive advantage? We know we need it
but not how to define it? Strategic Direction, Vol. 29, Issue 9, p6-8. Available at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SD-08-2013-0049/full/pdf?title=so-what-
is-competitive-advantage-we-know-we-need-it-but-not-how-to-define-it [Accessed 18/3/21]
Kaleka, A. and Morgan, N. (2017) Which Competitive Advantage(s)? Competitive Advantage-
Market Performance Relationships in International Markets. Journal of International Marketing,
Vol. 25 Issue 4, p25-49
Lawson, J. (2021) In the Digital Economy, Your Software Is Your Competitive Advantage. Harvard
Business Review Digital Articles, 1/18/2021, p1-4
Negulescu, O. H. (2019) The Importance of Competitive Advantage Assessment in Selecting the
Organization’s Strategy. Review of General Management, Vol. 29, Issue 1, p70-82
Subtopic 2: Primary Steps and Key Players in the Strategic Management Process
Garavandala, U. (2020) An Integrative Approach to Strategic Management in Health Services.
CLEAR International Journal of Research in Commerce & Management, Vol. 11 Issue 3, p19-22
Hermanson, D., Tompkins, J., Veliyath, R. and Ye, Z. (2020) Strategic planning committees on U.S.
public company boards: Axiomatic or paradoxical? Long Range Planning, Vol. 53, Issue 5.
Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024630118302425?via%3Dihub
[Accessed 18/3/21]
Ruming, K. (2019) Public Knowledge of and Involvement with Metropolitan and Local Strategic
Planning in Australia. Planning Practice & Research, Vol. 34, Issue 3, p288-304
Weston, M. (2020) Strategic Planning in an Age of Uncertainty: Creating Clarity in Uncertain
Times. Nurse Leader, Vol. 18, Issue 1, p54-58
Subtopic 3: Common Pitfalls of Strategic Planning
Choonhaklai, S. and Wangkanond, R. (2014) The Linkage Between Elements in the Strategic
Planning Process: A Qualitative Study. International Employment Relations Review, Vol. 20, Issue 1,
p27-43
Godet, M. (2000) The Art of Scenarios and Strategic Planning: Tools and Pitfalls. Technological
Forecasting & Social Change, Vol.1, Issue 65, p3-22. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040162599001201?via%3Dihub
[Accessed 18/3/21]
Martin, R. (2014) The Big Lie of Strategic Planning. Harvard Business Review, Jan/Feb2014, Vol. 92,
Issue 1/2
Mintzberg, H. (1993) The Pitfalls of Strategic Planning. California Management Review, Vol.36,
Issue 1, p32-47
Strategic Direction (2012) Better strategic planning: Managing change and planning for the future
require both vision and strategy. Strategic Direction, Vol.29, Issue 1, p30-32. Available at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/02580541311285410/full/pdf?title=better-

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strategic-planning-managing-change-and-planning-for-the-future-require-both-vision-and-
strategy - [Accessed 18/3/21]
Subtopic 4: The Role of Strategic Leaders
Hunitie, M. (2018) Impact of Strategic Leadership on Strategic Competitive Advantage through
Strategic Thinking and Strategic Planning: A Bi-Meditational Research. Business: Theory &
Practice, Vol. 19, p322-330
Luciano, M., Nahrgang, J. and Shropshire, C. (2017) Strategic Leadership Systems: Viewing Top
Management Teams and Board of Directors from a Multiteam Systems Perspective. Academy of
Management Review, Vol. 45 Issue 3, p675-701
Nevins, M. (2019) Becoming a Strategic Leader. Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hillennevins/2019/02/18/becoming-a-strategic-
leader/?sh=7f3dcde5d687 - [Accessed 18/3/21]
Samimi, M., Cortes, A., Anderson, M. and Herrmann, P. (2020) What is strategic leadership?
Developing a framework for future research. The Leadership Quarterly. Available at:
https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S1048984318309317?token=CE02BF76A3E4C1ED76715D
D52128E928784E82C054199495A603879CA1560B08CDC3BA8A6274B43E4DEE4D3DE92401D8
[Accessed 18/3/21]

Case studies
These are case studies which will give you a broad understanding of how some of the concepts
presented in this topic are applied in the real world.
Brandenburger, A. (2019) Strategy Needs Creativity. Harvard Business Review, Mar/Apr2019, Vol.
97, Issue 2
MCB UP Ltd (2003) Three steps to strategic heaven: Watching the opposition. Strategic Direction,
2003, Vol. 19, Issue 2, p22-24. Available at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/02580540310794309/full/html [Accessed
18/3/21]
Schoemaker, P., Krupp, S. and Howland, S. (2013) Strategic Leadership: The Essential Skills.
Harvard Business Review, Jan/Feb2013, Vol. 91, Issue 1/2, p131-134

Videos
Strategic Planning Foundations (1 hr, 22min)
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/strategic-planning-foundations/understanding-the-principles-
of-strategic-planning-2?u=56741521

17 Strategic leadership - managing the strategy making process