...Strategy as Stretch and Leverage 06/05/2016 14:29 INNOVATION Strategy as Stretch and Leverage by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad FROM THE MARCH–APRIL 1993 ISSUE G eneral Motors versus Toyota. CBS versus CNN. Pan Am versus British Airways. RCA versus Sony. Suppose you had been asked, 10 or 20 years ago, to choose the victor in each of these battles. Where would you have placed your bets? With hindsight, the choice is easy. But at the time, GM, CBS, Pan Am, and RCA all had stronger reputations, deeper pockets, greater technological riches, bigger market shares, and more powerful distribution channels. Only a dreamer could have predicted that each would be displaced by a competitor with far fewer resources—but far greater aspirations. Driven by the need to understand the dynamics of battles like these, we have turned competitiveness into a growth industry. Companies and industries have been analyzed in mind-numbing detail, autopsies performed, and verdicts rendered. Yet when it comes to understanding where competitiveness comes from and where it goes, we are like doctors who have diagnosed a problem—and have even found ways to treat some of its symptoms —but who still don’t know how to keep people from getting sick in the first place. We can analyze companies in mindnumbing detail, perform autopsies, and render verdicts, but we are still addressing https://hbr.org/1993/03/strategy-as-stretch-and-leverage Page 1 of 24 Strategy as Stretch...
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...» BEST OF HBR THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE ORGANIZATION 1989 Sixteen years ago, when Gary Hamel, then a lecturer at London Business Schooi, and C.K. Prahalad, a University of Michigan professor, wrote "Strategic lntent,"the article signaled that a major new force had arrived in management Hamel and Prahalad argue that Western companies focus on trimming their ambitions to match resources and, as a result, search only for advantages they can sustain. By contrast, Japanese corporations leverage resources by accelerating the pace of organizational learning and try to attain seemingly impossible goals. These firms foster the desire to succeed among their employees and maintain it by spreading the vision of global leadership. This is how Canon sought to "beat Xerox"and Komatsu set out to "encircle Caterpillar." This strategic intent usually incorporates stretch targets, which force companies to compete in innovative ways. In this McKlnsey Award-winning article, Hamel and Prahalad describe four techniques that Japanese companies use: building layers ofadvantage, searching for "loose bricks," changing the terms of engagement, and competing through collaboration. Strategic Intent by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad oday managers in many industries Most leading global companies started with ambitions that were far bigger than their resources and capabilities. But they created an obsession with winning at ail levels of the organization and sustained that obsession for decades. 148 working hard...
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...» THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE ORGANIZATION 1989 Sixteen years ago, when Cary Hamel, then a lecturer at London Business Sehooi, and C.K. Prahalad, a University of Michigan professor, wrote "Strategic lntent,"the article signaled that a major new force had arrived in management. Hamei and Prahalad argue that Western companies focus on trimming their ambitions to match resources and, as a result, search only for advantages they can sustain. By contrast, Japanese corporations leverage resources by accelerating the pace of organizational learning and try to attain seemingly impossible goals. These firms foster the desire to succeed among their employees and maintain it by spreading the vision of global leadership. This is how Canon sought to "beat Xerox"and Komatsu set out to "encircle Caterpillar." This strategic intent usually incorporates stretch targets, which force companies to compete in innovative ways. In this McKinsey Award-winning article, Hamel and Prahalad describe four techniques that Japanese companies use: building layers ofadvantage, searching for "loose bricks," changing the terms of engagement, and competing through collaboration. Strategic Intent by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad oday managers in many industries Most leading global companies started with ambitions that were far bigger than their resources and capabilities. But they created an obsession with winning at ail levels ofthe organization and sustained that obsession for decades. working hard to...
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...» THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE ORGANIZATION BEST OF HBR 1989 Sixteen years ago, when Cary Hamel, then a lecturer at London Business Sehooi, and C.K. Prahalad, a University of Michigan professor, wrote "Strategic lntent,"the article signaled that a major new force had arrived in management. Hamei and Prahalad argue that Western companies focus on trimming their ambitions to match resources and, as a result, search only for advantages they can sustain. By contrast, Japanese corporations leverage resources by accelerating the pace of organizational learning and try to attain seemingly impossible goals. These firms foster the desire to succeed among their employees and maintain it by spreading the vision of global leadership. This is how Canon sought to "beat Xerox"and Komatsu set out to "encircle Caterpillar." This strategic intent usually incorporates stretch targets, which force companies to compete in innovative ways. In this McKinsey Award-winning article, Hamel and Prahalad describe four techniques that Japanese companies use: building layers ofadvantage, searching for "loose bricks," changing the terms of engagement, and competing through collaboration. Strategic Intent by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad oday managers in many industries Most leading global companies started with ambitions that were far bigger than their resources and capabilities. But they created an obsession with winning at ail levels ofthe organization and sustained that obsession for decades. ...
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