The Lords of Strategy

Consider running a company without a strategy. It would be like driving blindfolded or constructing a house without a blueprint. Yet, just 50 years ago, business "plans" were merely extrapolations of the status quo, oblivious to the forces that determine today's businesses' fate: competitive threats, consumer wants, and business costs. The concept of strategy transformed everything, setting the path for the modern corporate world to emerge.

The Lords of Strategy chronicles the development and growth of strategy, possibly the most significant corporate paradigm of the last half-century, as well as the difficulties and successes of the unexpected innovators who created it. Bruce Henderson, founder of the Boston Consulting Group; Bill Bain, founder of Bain & Company; Fred Gluck, longstanding managing director of McKinsey & Company; and Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter were among them. Each was fascinated with determining how businesses get a competitive advantage over others. This insider narrative exposes the pioneers of the industry as "idea junkies" — a new breed of intellectuals who used thoughts as weapons in business disputes. Their tireless pursuit into the depths of competitiveness shattered much conventional knowledge, pushed CEOs into action, and challenged businesses to understand themselves like never before.

The Lords of Strategy, an important book by one of management's most astute observers, gives readers a better grasp of the world in which they compete, as well as a keener eye for what works — and what doesn't — when crafting strategy.

Author: Walter Kiechel

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Lords-Strategy-Intellectual-History-Corporate/dp/1591397820