Research

Since the late 1950s, hundreds of strategy frameworks, concepts and techniques have emerged, alongside a substantial repository of “prêt-à-porter” strategies. According to a study carried out by researchers at New York University, 83 of these concepts can be classified as genuine “milestones”. Roughly half of these are off-the-shelf strategies, while around a quarter each are organisational models and analytical tools or techniques.

However, a mere four milestone approaches relate to custom designing strategies. In other words, it appears that the actual creation of strategic options has often been treated as a black box. We aim to shed more light on this black box.

To this end, we have been partnering with experts from five disciplines. Interim research reports are being made available as a series of pocketbooks. Volume 1 explores how some of the greatest architects succeeded in creating the core concepts for buildings that have since become landmarks. Currently, we are attempting to understand in what ways business strategy can benefit from systems, processes, and tools that have proven essential in continually improving the safety record in aviation. Next, we will analyse the genesis of a few paradigm-shifting discoveries in physics. Since mastery of tools and techniques is among the essential drivers of quality, Volume 4 of our book series will explore some of the formulas applied by famous craft workshops. Finally, we aim to draw insights from the short history of business strategy.