Campbell A, Alexander M
Ashridge Strategic Management Centre, London.
Harv Bus Rev. 1997 Nov-Dec;75(6):42-51.
Why is it that successful strategies are rarely developed as a result of formal planning processes? What is wrong with the way most companies go about developing strategy? Andrew Campbell and Marcus Alexander take a common sense look at why the planning frameworks managers use so often yield disappointing results. Companies often fail to distinguish between purpose (what an organization exists to do) and constraints (what an organization must do in order to survive), the authors say. Many executives mistakenly believe, for example, that satisfying stakeholders is an objective that drives thinking about strategy. In fact, it's a constraint, not an objective. Companies that don't win the loyalty of stakeholders will go out of business. Strategy is not about plans but about insights, the authors add. Strategy development is the process of discovering and understanding insights and should not be confused with planning, which is about turning insights into action. Furthermore, because executives develop most of their insights while actually doing the real work of running a business, it is important for companies not to separate strategy development from implementation. Is there a better way? The answer is not new planning processes or more effort. Instead, managers must understand two fundamental points: the benefit of having a well-articulated, stable purpose and the importance of discovering, understanding, documenting, and exploiting insights about how to create value.
为什么成功的战略很少是正式规划流程的结果？大多数公司制定战略的方式存在什么问题？安德鲁·坎贝尔和马库斯·亚历山大从常识角度审视了为何管理者经常使用的规划框架往往产生令人失望的结果。作者称，公司常常未能区分目的（组织存在的意义）和约束条件（组织为求生存必须做的事）。例如，许多高管错误地认为，满足利益相关者是推动战略思考的目标。事实上，这是一种约束条件，而非目标。无法赢得利益相关者忠诚的公司将会倒闭。作者补充道，战略不是关于计划，而是关于洞察力。战略制定是发现和理解洞察力的过程，不应与将洞察力转化为行动的规划相混淆。此外，由于高管们大多是在实际经营业务的过程中形成他们的洞察力，所以对公司来说，不将战略制定与实施相分离很重要。有没有更好的方法？答案不是新的规划流程或更多努力。相反，管理者必须理解两个基本要点：明确阐述且稳定的目标所带来的益处，以及发现、理解、记录和利用有关如何创造价值的洞察力的重要性。
