Eddielogic

– Thoughts on Strategy and Management

Quotes on strategy and innovation from my readings

The best quotes from my September readings

I read a lot about strategy making in today’s dynamic environment and about innovation – two areas that are closely interrelated. The business environment has changed dramatically over the last couple of years; it is now described as a VUCA-world. This requires new approaches to both – strategy and innovation. Despite the rising awareness for this fact, many businesses are still struggling to adapt their approaches, processes, and – most importantly – their thinking to these new challenges.

This is reflected in my favorite picks from this month’s readings:

Chris Ertel and Lisa Kay Solomon state in Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change

“If strategy was like a high-stakes chess game a few decades ago, it’s more like hockey today – fast, risky, and hard to follow. There’s at least as much improvisation as there is planning involved.”

At the same time, they observe

“For many, it’s hard to stop doing the things that made them successful even after they no longer work”

Ramon Vulling and Marc Heleven make a similar observation in Not Invented Here: Cross-industry Innovation

“Today innovation is seen as one of the main driving forces for growth, development and profitability. The problem is that – in many cases – innovation is an extrapolation of the current situation.”

Greg Satell agrees in 3 Things That Will Eventually Kill Your Business

“… the likely cause of your business’s future failure is a factor in its success today.”

and

“The problem is that it’s often hard to change an area that has historically been a crucial part of your success.”

Besides that, there are additional explanations for business’s problems to successfuly adapt their strategy making:

My final quote relates to the VW scandal that hit the news at the end of September. There was much discussion about possible causes, moral and ethics. I found a great summary in this sentence:

“Not your stated values are reality but your behavior in your business (model)”

Patrick Stähler in We “totally screwed up”: Values and Behaviors in Volkswagen business model

Which great thoughts did you discover last month? Share them with us in the comments section below!

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