Strategic Renaissance

by Evan Matthew Dudik

Book Overview

This title looks at corporate strategy by joining the history of discoveries with rigors of scientific testing. The book is a how-to guide and is aimed at senior managers and executives. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814405517
• ISBN13: 9780814405512
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Amacom
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Evaluating Strategic Renaissance

In preparation for a class on strategic thinking, I read through many sources including a number of books on strategic thinking. The first thing that struck me was what a refreshing read Strategic Renaissance was compared to all of the other drones I had read. Dudik's book is lively and clear and extremely easy to follow.But what made the book so enjoyable was the freshness of his approach. After years in consulting, Dudik has arrived at his own conclusions that bring energy and vitality to the field. From his four key elements of a successful strategy, to the hammer and pivot, to the end of the sustainable competitive advantage, to the creation of dynamic strategy, Dudik lays out a thoughtful and timely message. The remaining chapters of his book delve into a new strategic approach that gives you a step by step analysis of how to approach strategy in a world where nothing is certain any longer. The book is also filled with ongoing cases that are compared against his theories so we get a very good look at how companies could have changed their strategic approach as well as seeing mistakes they made along the way. Finally, Dudik draws upon a wonderful knowledge of history to provide strategic insights as well. If you are looking for a fresh read, lively prose and inventive thinking, I wholeheartedly recommend Strategic Renaissance.Chapter OutlineChapter One - What Strategy Has Learned From Astrology and What it Needs to Learn From ScienceChapter Two - "Only Make the Right Wing Strong": The Four Key Elements of a Successful StrategyChapter Three - Strategic Anatomy: Strategy's Hammer and PivotChapter Four - The End of an Era: The Twilight of Sustainable Competitive AdvantageChapter Five - Making Strategy Dynamic: The Dawn of Opportunity Creation and ExploitationChapter Six - Better Tools for Better Strategies: Creating, Testing and Falsifying Strategic IdeasChapter Seven - Strategic Breakthrough and Exploitation: Making the Right Choices and Choosing the Right ToolsChapter Eight - Deploying Resources: Tools for ExplorationChapter Nine - Born Allies and Sworn Enemies: Corporate Strategy Meets Corporate CultureChapter Ten - Top Management Teamwork: Tools for Harmonizing Strategy and CultureChapter Eleven - 81 Do's and Don't's on the Road to a Great Corporate Strategy

Strategic Renaissance......and more

Strategic Renaissance, by Evan M. Dudik, provides a refreshing recognition that practically timeless traits characterize effective strategy. Mr. Dudik weaves his philosophical, historical, business and strategic acumen into a practical work that should be of interest to a broad audience, not just corporate strategists. Rather than providing us with the typical simple formula peppered with retrospective examples of success, Strategic Renaissance examines the best strategic characteristics of war, business, science and other fields of human endeavor during the past one thousand years. For instance, try to imagine drawing parallels between events as divergent as the impact of the internet on business practices, ancient Greek military campaigns and behavioral psychology to evaluate that next bold corporate move. No CEO will dispute the traditional strategic factors of geography, transportation, cost, price, culture and people will remain increasingly dynamic as a result of technology. Therefore, no strategy, regardless of its current success, can sustain itself indefinitely. Dudik seeks to help the reader define a framework for identifying the ongoing process of creating, exploiting, destroying and re-creating successful business strategies. Strategic Renaissance is exceptionally readable and Mr. Dudik's frequent quips and humorous real life anecdotes help to maintain the quick pace. Nonetheless, not every professed strategist is going to be comforted by the thoughtful challenges presented here. But for those who are willing to put aside, at least for the moment, their current notions regarding the development, maintenance and evaluation of business strategy, I promise a genuinely new view of the field. Strategic Renaissance allows, actually requires, its readers to consider strategic adaptation not as failure but as necessary for continued survival and success.

The Slow Revenge of Science

Not many strategy books begin with a burning at the stake, but for this one, the image fits. Four hundred years ago, Giordano Bruno was one of a long string of brave zealots who clung to his belief in the scientific observation at the cost of his life. Vested interests could not abide the notion that unconventional thoughts could be rigorously tested unfettered by the passions of belief. Now, at the turn of the millennium, science has embraced Mr. Bruno's views, but business strategists continue to burn heretics at the stake. Why? Because many companies adopt strategies as belief systems, so challenging them risks career death. Dudik argues that strategies are ideas, not beliefs. Like other ideas, they can be formulated as hypotheses subject to rigorous tests. Strategies that don't meet the test in due course should be rejected.Rather than trot out yet another set of consultant-polished beliefs, Dudik presents a series of techniques and approaches borrowed from his interest in military history and experience in consulting. These ideas may or may not work for you, he says, but any that you select should be couched as falsifiable hypotheses that must pass merciless, scientific scrutiny. Only then can you avoid the trap of falling blindly in love with your ideas.For this fresh perspective alone, this book is worth its quick read. Dudik's application of the military hammer and pivot strategy is insightful, and his 81 do's and dont's of strategy development are innovative and practical. Strategic Renaissance deserves a place on the bookshelf of any executive with the courage to challenge and invigorate his or her organization.

Strategic Renaissance

As a small businessman living the "American Dream", I don't get the opportunity to read as much as I would like. That's why I'm very pleased to have spent some precious time with "Strategic Renaissance" by Evan M. Dudik. While receiving some valuable insights into refining strategies for my business, I was also entertained with the connections Mr. Dudik made with classical philosophy, science, and especially, military history. In addition to the inspiration to re-engage my intellect, the book offers some practical checklists and useful tools to construct a better strategic planning process for my company. I especially appreciate the exposure to three of the themes in the book:1. The development of an "if-then" quantifiable approach to analysis of strategies that creates the challenge to falsify the underlying hypotheses;2. The utilization of the time tested "pivot and hammer" strategies to defend against and attack direct competitors, especially those with numerical superiority; and3. Ways of dealing with corporate culture while making necessary strategic moves.I highly recommend this book as a management tool - and an interesting read!

Birth and Rebirth

This book makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of how to formulate and then implement the most appropriate strategies. Dudik seems to have covered every element of the formulation/implementation process. Here are the titles of the eleven chapters:What Strategy Has Learned from Astrology and What It Needs to Learn from Science"Only Make the Right Wing Strong": The Four Key Elements of a Successful StrategyStrategic Anatomy: Strategy's Hammer and PivotThe End of an Era: The Twilight of Sustainable Competitive AdvantageMaking Strategy Dynamic: The Dawn of Opportunity Creation and ExploitationBetter Tools for Better Strategies: Creating, Testing, and Falsifying Strategic IdeasStrategic Breakthrough and Exploitation: Making the Right Choices and Choosing the Right ToolsDestroying Resources: Tools for ExploitationBorn Allies and Sworn Enemies: Corporate Strategy Meets Corporate CultureTop Management Teamwork: Tools for Harmonizing Strategy and Culture81 Do's and Don'ts on the Road to a Great StrategyWhen appropriate, I list a book's table of contents in a review because the reader of that review does not have immediate access to such information online, as she or he would when browsing in a bookstore. The titles of Dudik's chapters correctly indicate how thorough his coverage is. The notes beneath each title are also revealing. For example, consider those for the final chapter: "No matter what you've read elsewhere, there is no silver bullet, there is no royal road to great strategic success. It's a matter of inspiration, insight, falsification, and perspiration. Nevertheless, there are crucial do's and don'ts that can maximize your chances of success." Dudik provides 81.If your organization lacks "great strategic success" and thus needs a rigorous yet creative process by which to achieve it, this book will be invaluable. Here's one of several ways to derive the greatest benefit from it. Have the key people in your organization (whatever its size or nature) read this book. Schedule a one-day offsite meeting and base the agenda on the sequence of 11 chapters. Have each participant come prepared to correlate the key points made in each chapter with the organization's current circumstances. Also, to discuss (specifically) what must be done to achieve "great strategic success." This book can not only help set the agenda but also guide and inform discussion of subjects on that agenda. Dudik's "Hammer and Pivot Model" will also be helpful to individual executives who are eager to improve the quality of their strategic thinking. This is a superb achievement.