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Prelims

Vickie Cox Edmondson (University of Georgia, USA)

The Thinking Strategist: Unleashing the Power of Strategic Management to Identify, Explore and Solve Problems, 2nd Edition

ISBN: 978-1-80382-562-5, eISBN: 978-1-80382-559-5

Publication date: 5 August 2022

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Edmondson, V.C. (2022), "Prelims", The Thinking Strategist: Unleashing the Power of Strategic Management to Identify, Explore and Solve Problems, 2nd Edition, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-xxi. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-559-520222029

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022 Vickie Edmondson

Half Title Page

THE THINKING STRATEGIST

Title Page

THE THINKING STRATEGIST

Unleashing the Power of Strategic Management to Identify, Explore and Solve Problems, 2nd Edition

By

Vickie Cox Edmondson

University of Georgia, USA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2018

Copyright © 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited

Second edition 2022

Copyright © 2022 Vickie Edmondson Foreword: © 2022 Jonas Robinson. Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited

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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80382-562-5 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-559-5 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-561-8 (Epub)

Contents

List of Figures and Tables xi
About the Author xv
Foreword xvii
Acknowledgments xix
PART ONE: SETTING EXPECTATIONS
Section A: See Yourself at the Top 3
1 What Is Strategy and Why Is It Important to Anyone Not at the Top? 5
Your Professional Growth 7
What Does It Take to Become an Expert in Strategy? 9
How Will You Know When You Have Achieved Expert Status? 10
2 The Process, the Players, and the Stakes 13
Ecosystems 13
Industry 14
Stakeholders and Stakeholder Power 14
Board of Directors 16
Top Management 17
Managers 18
Empowered Problem Solvers and Contributors 19
Other Stakeholders 20
The Process 22
Getting All Brains on Deck 23
What Constitutes a Good Contribution? 25
3 The Art of Judgment 27
Individual Purpose at Work 28
Emotional Intelligence and Assessment Tools 29
Developing Emotional Intelligence 30
Developing Better Judgment 31
The Importance of Research 32
Dissent in Decision Making 33
Accountability to Do Something 34
Section B: Business Acumen 37
4 Problem Not Currently Solved 39
Business Mission 40
Strategic Vision 41
Strategic Thinking to Analyze the Situation 43
Critical Voicing 43
5 Leadership and Dealing with Change 47
Change and Innovation: Willingness to Act on Thoughts 47
Ways to Introduce Change 49
Reactions to Change 50
Overcoming Resistance to Change 50
6 Criteria for Crafting a Good Strategy 53
Achieve Goals Meet Objectives 53
Financial and Strategic Performance Objectives 54
Resources and Constraints 56
Evaluation and Control 57
PART TWO: THE VAULT
Section A: Taking Stock 61
1 Gathering Information with a Shared Goal in Mind 63
Search With a Shared Goal in Mind 64
Fact Check 64
Benchmark Based Upon Strategic Groups 65
Pay Attention to Numbers 65
Get Ready to Think: What You Think Really Matters 66
Handling Stakeholder Need for Confidentiality 68
Willingness to Accept Findings 69
2 What Does a Company’s Internal Environment Reveal About the Strategy–Structure Relationship? 71
Organizational Structure and Decision Making 72
Analyzing the Internal Situation 74
A Company Profile 74
Present Strategy Analysis 75
Functional Areas of Business Analysis 76
Competitive Financial Analysis 78
3 Evaluating a Company’s External Environment, The Firm–Industry–Society Relationship 81
Analyzing the External Situation 81
Six Segment General Environment Analysis 83
External Driving Forces Analysis 84
Forces Driving Industry Competition and Attractiveness 85
Stakeholder Power Analysis 86
SWOT Analysis 87
An Overview of Skye Construction 90
Environmental Factors 91
4 Gaining Alignment on What Is Happening and Why 95
Current Reality Trees 95
Findings from Skye Construction 98
Identifying UDEs 98
Developing a CRT 98
The Follow-up Meeting 99
Seven Key Points 100
Section B: Crafting Strategy for Competitive Advantage 103
5 Theory Linking Strategy to Performance Objectives 105
Competition and Sustainability 105
Leveraging Competitive Advantage for an Edge 107
Three Levels of Strategy 108
Strategy Typologies 109
Objectives-based Strategies 111
Flexibility and Emergent Strategy 114
Intellectual Property 114
Findings from Skye Construction 115
6 Strategies for Overcoming Constraints 117
The No Immediate Change Option 117
Strategic Adjustments 118
Strategic Cost Alignment 119
Synergistic Development 122
Firm Growth/Diversification 122
Collective Strategy 124
Partnering or Doing Business with Minority Business Enterprises 124
Building Links with Business Schools 127
Caveats 128
7 Collaborative Decision Making 131
Brainwriting 131
Brainstorming 132
Agreement on the Important Issues 134
Decision Analysis 138
Decision Modes 140
Findings from Skye Construction 141
Section C: Organizational Learning Through Strategy Implementation 151
8 Linking Implementation to Plan Objectives 153
Findings from Skye Construction 155
Implementation Plan Components and Responsibility List 156
Risk Management and Sticking to the Plan 159
Avoiding Potential Problems 160
Findings from Skye Construction 162
9 Managing Talent, Time, and Money 169
Assessing Talent Needs 170
Strategy Implications of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 171
Documenting Contributions 173
Setting Realistic Time Expectations 175
Staying Within Budget 176
Testing Plan Objectives 177
Findings from Skye Construction 178
Testing the Talent Objective 178
Testing the Time Objective 180
Time Allocation Schedule 184
Testing the Budget Objective 185
Section D: Assessing Progress And Reporting Impact 187
10 Strategy Evaluation and Control 189
Identifying and Recording Deviations from Planned Results 189
Accountability 190
Common Financial Terms 191
Financial Statements 192
Caveats about Financial Ratios 193
Key Financial Ratios for Analyzing a Company MS Used in the Strategic MA 194
Additional Tools 199
11 The Art of Gaining Commitment by Raising the Stakes 201
Written Communications 202
Web Conferencing 203
Face-to-Face and Virtual Meetings 203
Presenting the Meeting Content 206
Value of Storytelling and Use of Examples 206
Value of Supporting Functional Analysis 208
Value of Visual Representations 209
Value of an Appendix and Summary Handouts 210
Value of Citations and Sources 211
12 Strategic Communications 213
Messaging 213
Communication Functions 215
The Process 215
KISS the Message 216
Process Mapping and Modeling 216
Just in Time Communication 217
Celebrations and Commitments 217
Appendix 221
References 229
Glossary 235
Index 243

List of Figures and Tables

Figures

Fig. 1. Hierarchical Management Structure with Multiple Strategic Business Units 6
Fig. 2. Flat Management Structure for a Small Entrepreneurial Venture or Single Business Unit 6
Fig. 3. The Skill–Opportunity Paradox 8
Fig. 4. The Strategic Management Process 12
Fig. 5. Common Team Roles 23
Fig. 6. Edmondson and Munchus Dissent Strategies Model 34
Fig. 7. Malik Coaching Model 35
Fig. 8. Edmondson and Edmondson Critical Voicing Model 44
Fig. 9. TOC Questions Leading to Problem Resolution 48
Fig. 10. Adaptation of Altier Change Model #3 49
Fig. 11. The Strategy–Structure–Performance Relationship 72
Fig. 12. Functional Areas of Business Along Management Activities 77
Fig. 13. Driver of Industry Profits 1 85
Fig. 14. Driver of Industry Profits 2 88
Fig. 15. SWOT Analysis 88
Fig. 16. Example of Step 1 in a SWOT Analysis 89
Fig. 17. Financial Analysis of Syke Construction 93
Fig. 18. Sufficiency and Necessity Clauses 97
Fig. 19. List of UDEs 99
Fig. 20. Internal Facing CRT 100
Fig. 21. Components of an External Facing CRT 101
Fig. 22. The Dynamic Strategy–Structure–Performance Relationship 106
Fig. 23. Three Levels of Strategy 109
Fig. 24. Difference Between Cost, Price, and Worth 113
Fig. 25. Money in the Strategic Money Process 120
Fig. 26. Bad Costs, Good Cost, and Best Costs 120
Fig. 27. The Need for Agreement 132
Fig. 28. Collaborative Decision Making Process 133
Fig. 29. Satisfaction Ranges 137
Fig. 30. Managing Individual Contributions 172
Fig. 31. Time Allocation Schedule 185 Fig. 32. Deviation Tactics190
Fig. 33. The Strategic Communication Process 216

Tables

Table 1. Mission and Vision Statement Present Versus Future Tense 42
Table 2. Role Business Functions in Crafting and Implementing Strategy 77
Table 3. Comparison of Firm Relative Strength 79
Table 4. The General Environment 83
Table 5. The Driving Forces of Industry Competition 86
Table 6. Example of Step 2 – The SWOT Strategies Matrix 90
Table 7. Common Mistakes in a SWOT Analysis 90
Table 8. Five Requirements for Analyzing UDEs 97
Table 9. Three Levels of Strategy 112
Table 10. Strategy Types to Overcome Restraints 118
Table 11. Five Strategy Types for MBEs 126
Table 12. Weighting Objectives 142
Table 13. Appendix of Eliminated Objectives 143
Table 14. Skye Construction Satisfaction Scale 144
Table 15. Decision Matrix 1 145
Table 16. Decision Matrix 2 146
Table 17. Decision Matrix 3 147
Table 18. Decision Matrix 4 148
Table 19. Decision Matrix 5 149
Table 20. Implementation Plan Objectives 156
Table 21. Implementation Plan Components and Responsibility List 157
Table 22. Implementation Plan Subcomponents and Responsibility List 158
Table 23. Potential Problem Avoidance Analysis: Accepted Risk 163
Table 24. Potential Problem Avoidance Analysis: Likely Causes of Potential Problem A 164
Table 25. Potential Problem Avoidance Analysis: Likely Causes of Potential Problem B1 165
Table 26. Potential Problem Avoidance Analysis: Contingency Planning for Potential Problem A 166
Table 27. Potential Problem Avoidance Analysis: Contingency Planning for Potential Problem B1 167
Table 28. Team Contribution Worksheet 174
Table 29. Individual Contribution Worksheet 174
Table 30. Implementation Plan Objective Test for Talent 179
Table 31. Implementation Plan Objective Test for Time 180
Table 32. Implementation Plan Objective Test for Time for Subplans 181
Table 33. Implementation Plan Objective Test for Time for Components with Subplans 182
Table 34. Implementation Plan Objective Test for Budget 185
Table 35. Visuals in Storytelling 210

About the Author

Vickie Cox Edmondson is an Academic and Management Strategist, known as a Forward Thinking, Business-minded Professor, and Engaging Speaker with more than 20 years of industry experience and business consulting. She served as the first Associate Provost for Student Success at Morehouse College. Her research has been published in the Academy of Management Learning and Education, Journal of Management Education, Journal of Business Ethics, Business and Society, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, etc. She received a BA from Spelman College, an MBA from Mercer University, and a PhD in Strategic Management from the University of Georgia.

Foreword

In the foreword to the first edition of The Thinking Strategist: Unleashing the Power of Strategic Management to Identify, Explore and Solve Problems, David A. Thomas, the 12th president of Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA, described the need for readers at all levels to have and understand the tools presented by Dr. Vickie Cox Edmondson to be able to think strategically about how to respond to conditions in real time. As a Senior Business Finance major at Morehouse, I had the honor and privilege of sitting on the receiving end of Dr. Cox Edmondson’s instruction. Not only did she help my peers and I become strategic thinkers, but, like Morehouse, Dr. Cox Edmondson also held a crown above the heads of her students and challenged us to grow tall enough to wear it. The crown was the crown of drive, the crown of determination, the crown of grit, the crown of thought leadership, the crown of trusted advisor, and the crown of excellence. Consequently, I, like many others of her students at Morehouse and other institutions, have been able to wear a crown to drive results, embrace change, and provide a big picture focus at the decision-making table. Not as a king, but as a collaborative and competent leader and team player.

As I reminisce about sitting in the Bank of America Lecture Hall at Morehouse in 2010, the challenges we faced and solved as students in our capstone business course taught by Dr. Cox Edmondson come to mind. Whether it was determining the root cause for Abercrombie and Fitch’s discrimination policies and practices or enhancing Nike’s supply chain to make it a more efficient company, we used available resources to face those respective challenges. With Dr. Cox Edmondson’s thought-provoking guidance, we developed and justified strategies to not only improve profitability, but chart a path for each company’s long-term success. While we had textbooks, articles, magazines, and the Internet at our disposal as tools in our quest to become strategic thinkers, we did not have The Thinking Strategist textbook to leverage.

But look no further: you, college students and business professionals alike, have in your hands a roadmap to be a thoughtful and skilled thinking strategist, able to think critically and strategically. Thus, you can enhance your chances of being selected for opportunities and advanced in your career. The global pandemic caused swift changes in business practices and even etiquette. This edition of The Thinking Strategist builds on the strategic perspectives evidenced in the first edition and can be used as a textbook or as a reference in professional decision situations. It will help to you develop the critical thinking skills necessary to navigate seas that could be still, turbulent, or experiencing crashing waves. The bonus is the “For Your Toolbox” exercises. I am confident that if you fully examine the challenges, you will cultivate a strategic mindset that will be beneficial for your personal and professional goals.

Reader: The Thinking Strategist will stretch you to become the leader you are destined to be. Whether you believe strategizing is in your DNA or you want to learn to be a strategic thinker, please be advised: this book will not do the work for you. To achieve what Cox Edmondson refers to as expert status, you must see yourself as the winner you will be in the future, set goals, come up with a plan, execute repeatedly, and learn from missteps. And, depending on where you are in the world today, that plan may evolve and mutate.

Dr. Vickie Cox Edmondson gave my class quite the challenge. Embrace the work irrespective of who (your capstone professor, your boss, your business partner, your mentor) is encouraging you to become a thinking strategist. While attaining that crown was grueling, the content which can be found in The Thinking Strategist was and is still relevant. It has paid dividends over my career in banking.

I am forever grateful.

Jonas Robinson

Director, BMO Capital Markets

Acknowledgments

In the foreword to the first edition of The Thinking Strategist, Morehouse College president and scholar, David A. Thomas, wrote that The Thinking Strategist is the first book to address changes in how decision making occurs in what he and some futurists have coined a VUCA world. A world that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. According to Thomas, “It describes the tools of strategy making in an accessible way. Professor Vickie Cox Edmondson makes a compelling case for why being a thinking strategist is necessary whether you are a senior manager trying to break through to the next level or a person early in your career.”

This revision furthers my commitment to motivate and inspire confidence in individuals from traditionally excluded groups who work in deadline and budget driven roles in high performance and competitive organizational cultures. Much has changed since the first edition appeared in 2018. It can be more difficult to be a person of color working in a predominantly White organization (PWO) given the increased and racial animus and accompanying beliefs toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). On the other hand, organizations that value the business case for DEI have increased their commitment to DEI in words and deeds. Thus, this new edition seeks to better prepare diverse contributors to make a difference at the decision-making table.

Again, I express my sincere appreciation to my students and faculty colleagues at the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Morehouse College, and Tuskegee University. Over the years, they have forced me to make tough decisions and deliver upon my promises. I celebrate their successes and milestones as they reach their career goals. I certainly want to thank the authors who have provided content for my courses over the years.

Lastly, I want to express my appreciation to my core supporters who I can count on in every endeavor to cheer me on and to provide the practical assistance needed for my success, my legacy daughters: Shantori, Devon, and Brandy.

Note on Supplementary Material

A complete set of PowerPoint slides and a study guide is available to assist adopters in preparing for classroom and business presentations. These learning and teaching aids can be found at www.emerald.com.

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