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This case of a Weyerhaeuser business unit’s use of the military’s methodologies provides an example for businesses that are faced with a daunting challenge to develop and execute strategies in a complex, rapidly changing business environment, when timely implementation is an important key to success. The goal of the industrial segment of Weyerhaeuser Building Materials (WBM) division was to accelerate innovation and growth in a stagnant market after two previous, unsuccessful attempts. The complexity of the task was large: 70 geographically dispersed locations and decision makers, new matrix organization, and a multi‐market environment in 12 regions. The industrial segment of WBM developed a revenue‐growth initiative and accelerated its execution by applying the fast‐cycle methodology of Desert Storm strategists in the 1991 military air campaign. The new strategy completely repositioned the business.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the Association for Strategic Planning Conference.

The paper provides a conference report for the 2012 Association for Strategic Planning Conference, held in Lincolnshire, Illinois, USA from May 30‐June 2, 2012.

The paper reveals presentations of practitioners and veteran consultants who share what is working in their practice of strategic management.

The paper provides reviews of papers presented at the 2012 Association for Strategic Planning Conference provided by practitioners and veteran consultants who share what is working in their practice of strategic management.

Reviews how the GEO model can assist European managers to meet the challenges in the new work culture.

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

The popularity of Sun Tsu's The Art of War highlights the longevity of the phenomenon of business looking to the military for inspiration. The scientific management movement's mechanistic approaches coincide horribly with the carefully organized destruction of the First World War. The field of logistics originates squarely in advances made by armies in time of war. The management conference scene is littered with expensive speakers who have retired from the military, or politicians who showed courage in times of conflict. The reason why is clear – business benefits handsomely from lessons in strategy learned when the stakes are the highest of them all.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.

This report on the Fifth Annual Conference of the Association of Strategic Planning (ASP), “Strategy in action: lessons from practice,” was held in Long Beach, California. This report covers the two keynote speakers plus highlights from a selection of the presentations (for more information see the ASP website: www.strategyplus.org). Purpose – The article summarizes the highlights of the Association for Strategic Planning's 2006 Annual Conference held on February 28, 2006 in Long Beach, California, one of the premier strategic‐planning conferences in the US. Design/methodology/approach – This is reportage on the annual ASP conference. Findings – The remarks of the two keynote speakers are summarized: W. Chan Kim's on “blue ocean strategy” that makes the competition irrelevant, and Milind Lele's remarks on situational monopolies that also, for a time, gets rid of competition. Both authors' remarks were based on recently published best selling books. In addition, of 40 other presentations offered in concurrent sessions, the article highlights a select few, enough to give a flavor of the conference theme of “Strategy in action – lessons from practice”. Practical implications – The actual conference (and this report) was targeted both to practitioners and strategic consultants eager to learn about the latest methods and pitfalls in doing strategic planning. Originality/value – Both audiences will benefit from reading this article principally by learning about the experiences, experiments, and successes of other companies' and consultants' efforts in actually doing strategic planning.