Group items tagged

Article by Robert Kabacoff February 7, 2014 Shared by Amber Barger, MSLOC Student In study after study, strategic thinkers are found to be among the most highly effective leaders. And while there is an abundance of courses, books, articles and opinions on the process of strategic planning, the focus is typically on an isolated process that might happen once or twice per year. In contrast, a true strategic leader thinks and acts strategically every day.

By Bea La O', MSLOC 2014 Capstone Research "This study seeks to understand how managers make strategic decisions through the lens of three approaches proffered by Mintzberg and Westley (2001): "think-first," procedural rationality, "see-first," insight and intuition, and "do-first," sensemaking. Through interviews with six leaders on strategic decision issues that range from changing the growth strategy of a large healthcare firm to redefining the talent management framework of a large quick service restaurant company, the study finds managers switch between the three approaches over the course of considering a decision issue. It also finds managers manage the inherent tension between "thinking-first," "seeing-first," and "doing-first," and socialize decision issues with stakeholders using "think-first," procedural rationality, and "do-first," sensemaking. "

Author: Nick Tasler May 7, 2014 Shared by: Robin Bellerby, MSLOC Alum Three pervasive myths continue to make strategic thinking an elusive skill set in today's organizations.

Forbes By Senia Maymin, Ph.D. and Margaret H. Greenberg March 3, 2014 Shared by Ashley Boehm Punzalan, MSLOC Student "One of our clients, Kevin, had a goal to complete a redesign of his website by the end of the third quarter. However, as a business owner, he never seemed to find the time to focus on it while juggling dozens of other responsibilities. "At the end of each day, it just falls off my to-do list because more urgent things pop up," he told us. As executive coaches, we work with highly successful people like Kevin who are usually quite good at getting things done and getting good results. But … sometimes these same clients find it hard to achieve their more strategic or longer-term goals due to day-to-day demands. Usually, they are missing just one ingredient. The following study gives a hint of the missing puzzle piece."

This book by Lawrence G. Hrebiniak is recommended by BK Simerson, MSLOC 431 Leading with Strategic Thinking Instructor. It is not focused on learning and organizational change but is a very useful book.

Author: Karl Moore Written March 28, 2011 (shared February 16, 2014) Shared by Sean Radford There are two people, and only two, whose ideas must be taught to every MBA in the world: Michael Porter and Henry Mintzberg. This was true more than 25 years ago, when I did my MBA at USC. These are two academics who have had real impact for a long time. Part of their success, beyond having big relevant ideas, is due to their clear and concise writing skills (There is certainly a lesson in there for many of us business school academics).

November 25, 2013 by Lisa Evans Thanksgiving provides an opportunity to reflect on all that we're grateful for, but for some companies, gratitude is not a once-a-year occasion, but is a value embedded in their company culture. Shared by Dorie Blesoff, MSLOC Instructor

Shared by Dorie Blesoff, MSLOC 441 Designing Sustainable Strategic Change Instructor

Author: Amy Gallo August 10, 2010 Shared by: Sean Radford, MSLOC Student