8 Perspectives on Strategy

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Framework Primer
8 Perspectives on
Strategy
Presentation created by
18
7 2
6 3
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Henry MintzbergKepner-Tregoe
Treacy and WiersemaKenneth
Andrews
Michel Robert Michael Porter
B. H. Liddell HartGeorge Steiner

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Contents
 Overview
 Strategy
 Strategy Defined
 Templates
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This presentation highlights the 8 different ways in which leading
strategists and management experts define Strategy
Presentation Overview
The scholarly writings of these experts laid the foundation to modern day Business
and Corporate Strategy.
The scholarly writings of these experts laid the foundation to modern day Business
and Corporate Strategy.
Strategy is about the methods used to attain goals. It’s the “how” of achieving goals—desired
future conditions and circumstances towards which effort and resources are spent until their
achievement. If Strategy has any meaning at all, it is in relation to some aim or end in view.
This presentation breaks down the various perspectives and definitions on Strategy, as explained
8 of the most impactful and renown Strategists in modern times. These 8 Strategy subject matter
experts are:
By gaining familiarity on all 8 perspectives, you can develop a more holistic and thorough
understanding of the topic, helping you improve your strategic thinking, decision making, and
analytical skills.
The slide deck also includes some slide templates for you to use in your own business
presentations.
1 Michael Porter
2 Henry Mintzberg
3 Treacy and Wiersema
4 B. H. Liddell Hart
5 George Steiner
6 Kenneth Andrews
7 Kepner-Tregoe
8 Michel Robert

Contents
 Overview
 Strategy
 Templates

Strategy is the means to an end and is 1 of the 4 dimensions
of an enterprise structure
Strategy – Overview
Strategy is bringing the future into the present and doing something about it now.Strategy is bringing the future into the present and doing something about it now.
Strategy is about the methods used to attain goals. It’s the “how” of achieving goals—desired future conditions and circumstances towards
which effort and resources are spent until their achievement.
The employed resources through use of
Strategies and Tactics give us certain
conditions and circumstances.
Inspecting them in light of the “desired”
conditions and circumstances enables us to
determine future employment of the resources
and thus emerges a pattern of actions and
decisions which makes Strategy an adaptive
and evolving view of what is required, to
achieve goals.
 Determining the goals of an enterprise
is a matter of Policy.
 Attaining goals is typically a matter
of Management not Governance.
 Strategy is the combined realm of the
governors and managers.
 Tactics belong to the managers.
 Means or resources are controlled jointly.
Strategy and tactics bridge the gap between
goals and the methods used to achieve those
goals.
The 4 dimensions of enterprise structure relate
to one or both of the following domains:
If Strategy has any meaning at all, it is in
relation to some aim or end in view. Strategy
constitutes one dimension of a 4-dimension
enterprise structure; the dimensions are:
of the organization.
at our disposal.
for achieving above-
mentioned goals –i.e.,
the methods used to
deploy the resources.
i.e., the ways in which
the deployed
resources are used.
Goals
Resources
Strategies
Tactics
1
2
3
4

Strategy has been the subject of many experts in modern times—offering
interesting perspectives
Strategy – 8 Definitions of Strategy
Strategy has its origins in war but its influence extends to life.Strategy has its origins in war but its influence extends to life.
Experts have tried to define Strategy in various perspectives.
We take a look at 8 of the following leading experts of Strategy—mainly Business Strategy—and how they have
described Strategy:
All of the above-mentioned
experts seem to agree on
the fact that Strategy is a
means to implement a
policy or a view envisioned
by those who matter.
Source: Strategy, Nickols, 2016
18
7 2
6 3
45
Henry MintzbergKepner-Tregoe
Treacy and WiersemaKenneth Andrews
Michel Robert Michael Porter
B. H. Liddell HartGeorge Steiner

Contents
 Overview
 Strategy
 Templates

Competitive Strategy is about differentiating yourself in the eyes
of the customer
Strategy Defined – Michael Porter
Strategy is about being different.Strategy is about being different.
Source: What Is Strategy, Porter, Harvard Business Review, 1996
Michael Porter is considered the father of modern Business Strategy studies. Porter’s Five Forces is a very influential
model for analysis in Business Strategy development today.
BACKGROUNDSTRATEGIST
Michael Porter
Porter’s view of Competitive Strategy suggests “intentionally opting a collection of activities that are dissimilar to the
competitors in order to provide a unique mix of value.” Porter states that Strategy is about:
 A competitive position.
 Differentiating yourself in the eyes of the customer.
 Adding value through a collection of activities different from competitors.
In an earlier book he writes that “Strategy is a combination of the ends (goals) for which the firm is striving and the means
(policies) by which it is seeking to get there.” Porter seems to embrace Strategy as both a Plan and a Position. Though
Porter writes about competitive Strategy, not about Strategy in general.
OVERVIEW

According to Mintzberg, contrast of changing realities and intentions
generates Strategy
Strategy Defined – Henry Mintzberg
Mintzberg describes Strategy as a combination of Perspective, Position, Plan,
and Pattern.
Mintzberg describes Strategy as a combination of Perspective, Position, Plan,
and Pattern.
Source: ‘The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, Mintzberg, Basic Books, 1994
Mintzberg argues that the contrast of changing realities with intentions necessitates accommodation, generating Strategy.
According to him Strategy is a combination of:
 The Perspective – Vision and Direction.
 The Position – Decisions to offer particular products or services in particular markets.
 The Plan – a means of getting from here to there.
 A Pattern in actions over time – for example, a company that regularly markets very expensive products is using a "high
end" Strategy.
Thus, we may start with a Perspective and conclude that it calls for a certain Position, which is to be achieved by way of a
carefully crafted Plan, with the eventual out-come and Strategy reflected in a Pattern evident in decisions and actions over
time. This pattern in decisions and actions defines what Mintzberg called "Realized" or Emergent Strategy.
Mintzberg is credited with co-creating the Organigraph. He writes on the topics of management and business Strategy.
His contribution to Organizational Theory in the form of “The Organizational Configurations Framework” is a model that
describes 6 valid organizational configurations.
OVERVIEW
Henry Mintzberg

Leadership positions are achieved by narrowing business focus
Strategy Defined – Treacy and Wiersema
These 3 Value Disciplines serve as the basis for an effective Strategy.These 3 Value Disciplines serve as the basis for an effective Strategy.
Source: The Discipline of Market Leaders, Treacy, Wiersema, Addison-Wesley, 1994
Treacy and Wiersema assert that companies achieve leadership positions by narrowing, not broadening, their business
focus on any one of the following:
 Operational Excellence’s objective is to lead the industry in terms of price and convenience and is based on the
Strategy of production and delivery of products or services. it implies world-class marketing, manufacturing, and
distribution processes.
 Customer Intimacy’s objective is long-term customer loyalty and long-term customer profitability. It is based on the
Strategy of tailoring and shaping products to the increasingly fine definitions of customer.
 Product Leadership’s objective is the quick commercialization of new ideas. It hinges on market-focused R&D as well
as organizational nimbleness and agility.
Toyota focused on Operational Excellence in an industry where it has lower unit volume yet achieved Competitive
Advantage.
Treacy and Wiersema’s “Value Discipline Model” is of 3 different value disciplines: Customer Intimacy, Product Leadership,
Operational Excellence. Studies on successful market leaders that outdid their competitors reveals that they did it through
mastering 1 of these 3 disciplines.
OVERVIEW
Treacy and Wiersema

Strategy has its origin in war and is a means to political ends
Strategy Defined – B. H. Liddell Hart
Liddell Hart’s work applies lessons from military Strategy to the business world.Liddell Hart’s work applies lessons from military Strategy to the business world.
Source: Strategy, Liddell Hart, Basic Books, 1967
Strategy originates from the Greek term Strategia, meaning "generalship.” Given the centuries-old military origins of the
term Strategy, it seems sensible to examine the military view of it as well. Liddell Hart redefines the definition of Strategy
by Moltke, i.e.:
 "The practical adaptation of the means placed at a general’s disposal to the attainment of the object in view." Moltke's
interpretation of military Strategy is evidently a means to political ends.
 Liddell Hart reaches at this brief definition of Military Strategy, "the art of distributing and applying military means to fulfil
the ends of policy."
Removing the word "military" from Liddell Hart’s definition facilitates projection of the concept of Strategy to the business
world.
Captain B. H. Liddell Hart was a military historian and military theorist. In the 1920s and later he wrote a series of military
histories that proved extremely valuable among strategists. Liddell Hart published his most influential work, “Strategy, 2nd
Revised Edition” in 1967.
OVERVIEW
B. H. Liddell Hart

George Steiner is believed to be the father of Strategic Planning in the
business world—this is how he defines the various dimensions of Strategy
Strategy Defined – George Steiner
Strategy is all about counteracting the competitors’ efforts – real or expected.Strategy is all about counteracting the competitors’ efforts – real or expected.
Source: Strategic Planning, Steiner, Free Press, 1979
Steiner points out that there was very little agreement as to the meaning of Strategy in the business world of the time. He
refers to some of the definitions in use at that time:
 Strategy is that which top management does that is of great importance to the organization.
 Strategy refers to basic directional decisions, that is, to Purposes and Missions.
 Strategy consists of the important actions necessary to realize these directions.
 Strategy answers the question: What should the organization be doing?
 Strategy answers the question: What are the ends we seek and how should we achieve them?
Steiner defines Strategy as, “a way of referring to what one does to counter a competitor’s actual or predicted moves.”
George Steiner, a professor of management and one of the founders of The California Management Review, is generally
considered a key figure in the origins and development of Strategic Planning. His 1979 book, “Strategic Planning,” is close
to being a bible on the subject.
OVERVIEW
George Steiner

Kenneth Andrews is considered to be one of the pioneers behind
the notion of “Business Strategy”
Strategy Defined – Kenneth Andrews
According to Kenneth Andrews, “Strategy incorporates Pattern, Plan, Perspective,
and Position.”
According to Kenneth Andrews, “Strategy incorporates Pattern, Plan, Perspective,
and Position.”
Source: The Concept of Corporate Strategy, Andrews, Dow-Jones Irwin, 1980
Andrews defines Strategy as:
 "Corporate Strategy is the Pattern of decisions in a company that determines and reveals its objectives, purposes, or
goals; produces the principal policies and plans for achieving those goals; defines the range of business the company is
to pursue; the kind of economic and human organization it is or intends to be; and the nature of the economic and non-
economic contribution it intends to make to its shareholders, employees, customers, and communities."
 Andrews’s definition of Strategy also alludes to:
– A Pattern
– A Plan
– A Perspective
By making a distinction between "Corporate Strategy"—which determines the businesses in which a company will
compete—and "Business Strategy," which defines the basis of competition for a given business, Kenneth Andrews also
anticipated "position" as a form of Strategy.
Kenneth Andrews, an academic, is co-credited with the foundational role in introducing and popularizing the concept
of “Business Strategy.”
OVERVIEW
Kenneth Andrews

Kepner-Tregoe believed that “Driving Forces in business determine
choices which take organization in a particular direction”
Strategy Defined – Kepner-Tregoe
Kepner-Tregoe considered Strategy as a matter of perspective.Kepner-Tregoe considered Strategy as a matter of perspective.
Source: Top Management Strategy, Tregoe, Zimmerman, Simon and Schuster, 1980
Kepner and Tregoe define Strategy as "the framework which guides those choices that determine the nature and direction
of an organization." They insist that strategic decisions should be based on a single driving force of the business out of the
9 possible forces:
 Products offered
 Production capability
 Natural resources
 Market needs
 Method of sale
 Size/growth
 Technology
Benjamin Tregoe and Charles Kepner’s “KT-method” is a popular Problem Analysis model. In addition to lecturing, Tregoe
also wrote books on management methodology and decision making. Tregoe’s book “Top Management Strategy” was
distilled from the work of Kepner-Tregoe Strategy Group.
OVERVIEW
Benjamin Tregoe
and Charles Kepner
 Method of distribution
 Return/profit

Michel Robert is a strategy consultant and author of numerous strategy
books, including “Product Innovation” and “Strategy Pure & Simple”
Strategy Defined – Michel Robert
Michel Robert argues that the real issues are Strategic Management and "thinking
strategically."
Michel Robert argues that the real issues are Strategic Management and "thinking
strategically."
Source: Strategy: Pure and Simple, Robert, McGraw-Hill, 1993
Robert offers the same view as Kepner, Tregoe, and Zimmerman. According to him, strategic decisions depend on 4
factors:
 Products and Services
 Market Segments
 Customers
 Geographic Areas
Robert is also a proponent of the “Single Driving Force” theory, listing forces that drive Strategy.
Drawing on extensive experience in Strategy formulation, implementation, and deployment, Robert’s scholarly work is filled
with examples drawn from the experiences of commercial leaders and interviews with CEOs of companies in a variety of
industries.
OVERVIEW
Michel Robert

Contents
 Overview
 Strategy
 Templates

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1Michael Porter 5 George Steiner
2Henry Mintzberg 6 Kenneth Andrews
3Treacy and Wiersema 7 Kepner-Tregoe
4B. H. Liddell Hart 8 Michel Robert
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