Business Strategy: A Guide to Effective Decision-Making

by Jeremy Kourdi

The effectiveness of a good strategy well implemented determines a business' future success or failure. Yet history is full of strategic decisions, big and small, that were ill-conceived, poorly organized and consequently disastrous. This updated guide looks at the whole process of strategic decision-making, from vision, forecasting, and resource allocation, through to implementation and innovation.

Strategy is about understanding where you are now, where you are heading and how you will get there. There is no room for timidity or confusion. Although the CEO and the board decide a company's overall direction, it is the managers at all levels of the organization who will determine how the vision can be transformed into action. In short, everyone is involved in strategy.

But getting it right involves difficult choices: which customers to target, what products to offer, and the best way to keep costs low and service high. And constantly changing business conditions inevitably bring risks. Even after business strategy has been developed, a company must remain nimble and alert to change, and view strategy as an ongoing and evolving process.

The message of this guide is simple: strategy matters, and getting it right is fundamental to business success.

Genres: Business, Management, Nonfiction, Business Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Economics

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Jeremy Kourdi is a freelance writer and business consultant, and has worked extensively in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He is the author of eight business books and many articles. Until August 2001 he was Senior Vice President with the Economist Group, and continues to do consultancy work with them. Other clients include Apter International, IMD in Lausanne and Strathclyde University Graduate Business School.

Reviews

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasional top-up of my business studies course at the OU. I can't pretend it was enthraling but it makes me feel like it's still fresh in my head.

[Shuan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of what’s business strategy

Many good points and coverage of the entire concept. Makes me want to learn even more about business strategy. But not an enjoyable read. Felt like reading somebody’s flashcards.

[Sharon Ravindran]

The book is an excellent choice if you want to understand the importance of strategy and what questions one should consider when making a big strategic decision. The cases presented in the book allows the reader to connect theory to real-life examples.

[Dean Marquis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is is a very comprehensive manuscript, maybe a bit too comprehensive. The Last Chapter, ( Making Strategic Decisions) should in my humble opinion be the First Chapter. An example of a stakeholder map would have been helpful. I think A Summary at the back with a Flow Chart demonstrating the Decision Making Process would have been a good idea.

[Travis Buell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The is the most comprehensive book I’ve read on strategy & execution. It summarizes the work of numerous other experts in various business fields.

[Palash Kulshrestha · Rating 3 out of 5]

diluted concoction of points from multiple books and sources. not as concentrated at michael e porter.

[Jeff Pavlick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well constructed; however, if one has read a few books about business, you’ll already be incredibly familiar with 95% of this book.

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to strategic thinking, ideal for both entrepreneurs and managers. It distills complex concepts into practical insights, using real-world examples to illustrate key principles. This book serves as a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand and implement sound business strategies.

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

**I read this for school, so my review may not be an accurate reflection of your experience.**

I had read previous Economist publishings and genuinely enjoyed them, however, this one was a poor choice. As mentioned, I read this for a course at college since or was our textbook, but it was not written to general business people. I often encountered entire chapters which had little to no applicable lessons for someone who isn't in a higher up position within a business.
If you were an entrepreneur or an executive with influencing power, the book may be more valuable.
There were definitely some valuable nuggets of knowledge for general practices, and advice to think upon, but I was definitely struggling to find some of the applications of the lessons from the book of value to a non-executive business person.
3 stars, granted that I was not the targeted audience.

[Cheyanne Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather than being a guide to effective decision making (as per the title), the book goes out of its way to be as comprehensive as possible. This book by no means confers any skills or additional knowledge on how to make decisions under uncertainty, with most of its statements very generic and applicable to many situations. The manager reading this in question will inevitably have to figure it out himself (no silver bullet here sorry).

It does however, have its own merits. The comprehensiveness of the book means that it is useful as a checklist whenever the manager reading this finds himself/herself in a spot, using the book as a reference guide by flipping to the relevant section when necessary.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive guide to strategy with many classic ideas. I would have rated this a 4 if it weren't for the outdated facts for a 2015 book. There wasa case for "hotmail" campaign for a free email address and 2 case studies about the success of Sears. None of the info is very in depth so it's more of an exploratory book.

[Ahmad Badghaish · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels like you’re chatting with someone who has the experience in this field. My problem with such books is it doesn’t include much technical knowledge, it only describes how it goes. However, I enjoyed reading it.

[Ruben Yesin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toolkit

It is a guide of stategy tools that guide you due to develop it but it also presents pitfalls or possible bias.

[yyyy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful in understanding the basic business strategies.

[Dennis Chow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive overview of business operations and business dynamics. Great book!