In this introductory chapter the rationale for and philosophy behind Images of Strategy are outlined. We argue that the conventional twentieth-century history of management and strategy leads us to unquestioningly assume that organizations are, for all people at all times, triangular hierarchies; that strategy is enacted by ‘the men at the top’, and that it is about longterm planning, directing, organizing and controlling. At a philosophical level, we deconstruct this history before reconstructing an alternative

vision – one based on a broader ‘pre-modern’ heritage. Here, organization could take many forms and strategy could, correspondingly, be many things and be seen through many images. At a practical level, we use the analogy of how people are oriented and animated by maps to argue that this broader heritage simply reinstates a more pragmatic view of how everyday people use many different frameworks in developing strategy in complex environments over time.

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Images of Strategy

STEPHEN CUMMINGS AND DAVID WILSON
The young lieutenant of a Hungarian detachment in the Alps sent a reconnaissance unit into the icy wilderness. It began to snow immediately, and unexpectedly continued to snow for two days. The unit did not return. The lieutenant feared that he had dispatched his own people to death. However, on the third day the unit came back. Where had they been? How had they made their way? ‘Yes,’ they said: ‘We considered ourselves lost and waited for the end. We did not have any maps, compasses or other equipment with which to ascertain our position or a probable route out. But then one of us found an old tattered map in a seldom used pocket. That calmed us down. The map did not seem to quite fit the terrain but eventually we discovered our bearings. We followed the map down the mountain and after a few wrong turns eventually found our way.’The lieutenant