Strategy is about imagination, choices and capabilities - interview with Roger Martin

How well do you make choices? It could be about your career, the focus of your job, your life more broadly. Or it could be about the focus and direction of the organisation

Too often we avoid making real choices, continuing with what we have because it feels safe, and comfortable to do so. Or we make a choice without considering all of the options?

Choices are at the heart of strategy. Choices about where to play, how to win, and how to build the capabilities and resources required to get you there. Imagination plays an important role - you have to ask what do you want to become before figuring out what you need to believe, and do, to get there.

Strategy is separate from a plan. And it doesn't require heavy analysis or long powerpoint decks.

My guest in this conversation, Roger Martin, is one of the world's leading strategy thinkers and adviser to CEOs, talks eloquently about how to do strategy effectively, and counters many of the popular myths.

A wonderful discussion, I hope you agree. Here's what we covered:

0:00 START
1:38 One area of strategy that needs changing: over emphasis on analysis.
3:11 The second area: strategy as a plan. Focus on choices.
4:57 The history of analytical consultancy.
7:06 The fallacy of strategy design and execution.
11:46 The relationship between strategy and culture.
16:36 How he led cultural change successfully at the Rotman School of Business.
20:00 A new performance review process for professors.
21:43 Culture change in one-to-one conversations, and getting a laptop.
26:20 The resilience (or not) of business schools
29:55 Who he would take along to CEO meetings and why
32:21 How he has applied his strategy framework to his own life.

More about Roger:

See https://rogerlmartin.com/ for more details about Roger's work, background and books, and his excellent series of articles on strategy in Medium:   / rogermartin  
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In this series of interviews I want to get under the skin of topics relevant to leaders – developing strategy, pursuing growth opportunities, responding to disruption, evolving their culture.

I talk to executives, entrepreneurs and management thinkers from all over the world. I challenge them to be clear, precise and simple in what they say! And I want them to leave us with ideas we can action.

Links to further resources

Mastering the connection between strategy and culture (S+B): https://www.strategy-business.com/art...

Every leader has flaws. Don’t let yours derail your strategy (HBR): https://hbr.org/2021/09/every-leader-...

5 strategies to infuse diversity & inclusion into your organisation (HBR): https://hbr.org/2021/05/5-strategies-...

4 actions transformational leaders can take (HBR): https://hbr.org/2021/05/4-actions-tra...

Four building blocks of transformation (S+B): https://www.strategy-business.com/art...

How to be a visionary leader and still have a personal life (HBR): https://hbr.org/2020/11/how-to-be-a-v...

How to practise strategy in an uncertain world (Strategy+Business): http://bit.ly/2OaojhB

10 principles of strategic leadership (S+B): http://bit.ly/3q14kQm

How to reinvent your organisation in the middle of a crisis (HBR): https://hbr.org/2021/02/how-to-reinve...

How to convince people that a crisis is also an opportunity (Forbes): https://www.forbes.com/sites/lbsbusin...
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