Strategy Learning 101

Resources to learn more about strategy - from basics to somewhat advanced :)

A lot of people often ask me, so where can I read about strategy? I often answer and refer them to certain articles or books or posts but I have never taken the time to compile them in one place for someone to have easy access to the list.

This is my collection of videos, articles and books that I believe are great to watch, read or listen for anyone who wants to know more about strategy. I will put this collection in three sections - Just for fun, This is getting serious, Full nerd out.

This is by no means exhaustive. As a student of strategy I continue to read more but this I must add are my favourites till date and have helped me form my own view of what strategy is about. Also I am trying to include free or easily accessible resources here. For books, I guess you would have to buy them or I am sure a good library would have them.

Note: How I have tried to put this down is that if you like videos you can progress from 1 section to the other just with videos. The same goes with articles and books. There is quite some overlap between videos, articles and books :). I also feel it is sometimes interesting to read a piece or a book and then listen to the author speak to really understand what they mean by it.

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Just for fun

These are meant for anyone who wants to dip their toes into the world of strategy.

Videos

1. Plan is not a Strategy: Roger Martin

   This is an insightful short video by one of my favourite strategic thinkers “ Roger Martin.” He introduces the concept of what strategy is what example of Southwest airline and helps differentiate it from a plan.

2. What is Strategy - Michael Porter

   Not a lot to say about it, Porter defines here what strategy is in 1 minute.

Articles

1. What is Strategy - Harvard Business Review

   This is the definitive article of what is strategy by Michael Porter. It expands upon the above definition of strategy in the video. One key topic he introduces here is how operational efficiency is different from strategy. This is quite critical to understand for anyone. Note: HBR lets you read a few free articles every month if you make an account.

2. What is a Good Strategy? - Strategy Shots

   I wrote this article around a month back to give my views on what a good strategy should look like. I borrow heavily from the views of Porter, Richard and Martin (you will see me mention them multiple times in this post :)).

   What is a Good Strategy?

Books

1. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy - Richard Rumelt

   If you had to read one book on strategy in your early journey, I would recommend this book. It is not always the easiest read but it explains a few key concepts

   1. What is a bad strategy?

   2. Key principles of how to act more strategically - the diagnosis, guiding policy and coherent actions.

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This is getting serious

These are meant for people who have now got hooked to the topic after the initial understanding and want to expand to new concepts of strategy

Videos

1. 5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy

   While I recommend his book later in this section, for those who don’t like reading books, this is a great way to get a taste of Roger Martin and his detailed views on strategy. Lenny does a brilliant job here moderating this podcast - one of my favourites.

Articles

1. Getting Strategy wrong and how to do it right instead - Richard Rumelt

   Well Richard is his usual self here with a strong opinion on how most corporations get strategy wrong and how to really go about it. This is sort of a sneak peek into his book - Good strategy, bad strategy that I mentioned in the Just for fun section.

Books

1. Playing to Win - A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin

   This is hands down one of my favourite books on Strategy. Roger Martin and A.G.Lafley bring together the framework they developed on strategy during their time together consulting and leading P&G respectively. It is clear and precise in its guidance and really details out the concept of strategy.

2. HBR’s 10 Must Reads - On Strategy

   This features some of the best articles ever written on strategy (including what is strategy by Porter that I recommended in “Just for fun” section). You can read it in whatever order you like - from strategy to execution this compilation has it all.

   

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Full nerd-out

This is for those who are now addicted to the world of strategy. The topics get a bit more complex here as we build on the initial understanding of strategy.

Videos

1. Clayton Christensen - Disruptive innovation

   Just like the previous section, while I recommend the book by Clay later on - for those who don’t fancy reading so much, this video gives a great insight on disruptive innovation. Innovation and strategy are tied at the hip as the aim of both is to create superior customer value.

Articles

1. The Concept of Strategy - Bruce Henderson

   This is one of my favourite articles from Bruce (I also love his 40/20/10 rule article). He explains the concept of strategy and relates it to competition in nature. What I love in this article the most is the introduction to Gause’s principle that “No two species can coexist who make their living in the same way” and its application to strategy.

2. Four logics of Corporate Strategy - MIT Sloan

   As a lot of us work in large corporations, which have multiple business units, this article helps explore the underlying logics of corporate strategy. Note: MIT Sloan is a really good source for data driven and researched strategy articles.

Books

1. The Innovator’s Dilemma - Clay Christensen

   In this book Clay delves into why established companies fail to bring disruptive innovations to market and how they can enable it. It is fascinating and a very easy read. As innovation is the centre-stone for strategy, I find this book a must read.

   

2. The Art of Strategy - Avinash Diskshit and Barry Nalebuff

   Strategy is all about probability and in this book Avinash and Barry dive into the role game theory plays in strategic decision making. It is not the easiest read especially if you have less of a mathematical background but brings out fascinating insights.

   

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Notable Mentions

1. What is Strategy - By Felix Oberholzer-Gee

2. What is Good Corporate Strategy - Richard Rumelt

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Well I hope you enjoy some of the above recommendations. Again, this list is by no means exhaustive as I primarily have limited it to 4 big authors (Richard Rumelt, Michael Porter, Roger Martin and Clayton Christensen). I will write another one of these in the future to expand on this list with other authors.

While reading is one part of strategic learning, observation is another very important part. I cannot emphasize it enough. Observe small businesses, companies and individuals around you. Develop theories of how you think they will fare out. Write them down and see in the future which came true and which did not. This is a really good way to build your strategic thinking.

Do let me know your thoughts about these and do share any other articles, videos or books in the comments that have helped you learn more about strategy. See you next week :)