Description

Agile Strategy is a practical guide for managers responsible for setting the strategic direction of their organisations in increasingly dynamic markets. Through its frameworks, tools and real-world examples, it explains how to transform business performance through greater organisational agility.

Why do we need a new book on strategy?
The pace of change is increasing, and strategic management is not keeping up. More than one in four (28%) strategic initiatives fail to meet their original goals and business intent[1], with insufficient agility identified as one of the top three barriers to successful strategy implementation[2]. The square peg of traditional strategy — vision, mission and blue-sky exercises; the separation of strategy from “implementation” — no longer fits the round hole of increasingly dynamic markets. It is time for a new approach.

How is Agile Strategy different?
Agile Strategy distinguishes itself from other strategy and agile books currently available in that it is:

• Designed for large organisations: Much of the writing on agile techniques addresses start-ups or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which operate under very different constraints and freedoms. Agile Strategy is written for large organisations who want to be more agile.
• Commercially-led: The approach is not a lightly airbrushed business rewrite of agile software development practices, but rather a fundamental rethinking of commercial and operational business practices.
• Practical: It is anchored in innovative and robust concepts but designed as a practical “how-to” guide: a book for practitioners, written by a practitioner.
• Results-focused: Whilst addressing a broad range of organisational topics, the book is grounded in the definition and delivery of measurable business benefits.

Why should I read it?
Agile Strategy offers four key benefits to its readers:

• A clear framework ('RADAR')
• A single, easy-to-grasp guiding principle: The Horizon
• Measurable benefits
• A practical approach

Table of Contents

• PART ONE Getting started
• 1 What you need to design an agile strategy
• 2 Get some perspective! How to ask the right questions
• PART TWO Research and analysis
• 3 How to gain insight in a VUCA world
• 4 VUCAnomics – learn where and why you make money
• 5 Use your intelligence – how to track market and organisational performance
• PART THREE Design and action
• 6 How to foster agility in your organisation
• 7 How to develop strategic intent and operational flexibility
• 8 How to execute agile strategies
• PART FOUR Results
• 9 How to measure success
• 10 How to hurdle the barriers to success
• Epilogue: How to continue the conversation
• Index

Author

Ralph Fernando is a business leader, consultant and writer. He draws together strategy, operations and technology experience earned on an international stage, where he focuses on value creation in private, public and voluntary organisations.

Ralph recognises that the boundaries between functional disciplines are far blurrier in real life than many would have you believe, and that true agility lies in how they interact. He is driven by the need to make this agility a practical, commercial reality within organisations, after ten years of hearing leading thinkers and executives talk a good game about it.

A Cambridge graduate and Warwick Business School MBA, in his spare time Ralph enjoys just spending time with his wife, Marielle, and their two boys Lucas and Aaron, as well as writing and recording songs at his home studio.