Escape the “Hockey stick” trap : five potent strategic moves that spur growth
Purpose: This interview with the authors of Strategy – Beyond the Hockey Stick offers their insights into a major problem which has bedevilled the strategy process in too many companies over the years - the combination of bold but delusional “hockey-stick” forecasts and timid strategic moves – a coupling that severely limits the impact of any strategy. Design/methodology/approach: The McKinsey authors examined publicly available information on the world’s 2,393 largest companies, and plotted their average annual economic profit Findings: They found that the curve is extremely steep at the both ends: those in the top quintile average some 30 times as much economic profit as those in the middle three quintiles. Practical implications: One of the biggest pitfalls in the strategy process is this very human propensity for bold forecasts and timid actions. Strategy requires confronting uncertainly head-on by embracing the notion of probability by calibrating the odds of a strategy succeeding, building in explicit trigger points to re-examine decisions as we learn more. 10; Originality/value: What has been largely missing from the literature is a study of the average-to-top transition based on an extensive data set, one that encompasses a greater range of performance profiles and average-to-top transition trajectories. This is the knowledge gap that Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick: People, Probabilities, and Big Moves to Beat the Odds fills.
Year of publication: |
2018
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Authors: | Leavy, Brian |
Published in: |
Strategy & Leadership. - Emerald, ISSN 1087-8572, ZDB-ID 2039442-1. - Vol. 46.2018, 4 (15.06.), p. 11-20
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Publisher: |
Emerald |
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