Roger Martin - What is Strategy? Planning is not Strategy (Full version)

“Strategy is a set of integrated choices. A plan is not a strategy.”

This is our conversation with the world’s #1 management thinker Roger Martin.

The former Dean of the Rotman School of Management & author of 13 books including Playing to Win and A New Way to Think.

Roger's work in strategy, continues to leave a prominent mark globally in distilling down complex and often noisy concepts into crystal clear principles that can be applied in the real world.

As a strategy advisory ourselves, Foundstone Advisory incorporates many of Rogers break-through concepts and insights into our own practice across customer & market insights, strategy, planning and execution.

In our conversation, we get Roger's unique perspective on:

-Why he does what he does
-A Plan is not a Strategy
-The pitfalls of Revenue forecasting
-Strategy & Execution
-Should I study for an MBA?
-Strategy & Data

In our conversation, Roger shares more unique insights in his recent clip with @harvardbusinessreview that has gone viral - A Plan is not a Strategy

We hope you enjoy this episode and get some really practical strategy tips for your own leadership toolbox and organisation.

Find out more about Foundstone Advisory strategy services below

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Chapters of the conversation:

00:00 Introduction
2:55 Roger's inspiration
12:00 A Plan is not a Strategy
19:31 Pitfalls of just relying on revenue forecasting
22:32 Strategy and execution
38:28 The Decline of business education
46:22 100% of all data is about the past

#Strategy #StrategicPlanning #HarvardBusinessReview #RogerMartin
#Planning #Business #Explainer #Success #HowTo

[sarahbeee]

As someone who has dedicated her life to design strategy, this is one of the most compelling and clear argument for design education and practice - and why so much great design strategy is crushed under the weight of outdated business beliefs and practices. Thank you for this!

[CaronDusing]

Love the 'well, Roger' stories!

[joseluisreyes]

Great interview and reflections. Especially relevant, the comparison between business and design schools. Congrats Roger!!!

[mslaily]

I love and appreciate you both so much!

[kerrygearin]

“Revenue forecasting is the moral equivalent to giving a pacifier to a crying baby” 😂😎💎 Thank you soooo much. I was wondering how I’m expected to forecast even pre-launch!

[theanalyzingpro]

Experience is talking in this interview!!

[bayou__]

Thanks Prof Roger Martin, and the host

[julesv]

I’m probably thinking differently then the speaker on revenue forecasting but in my business like any business we have to forecast what we expect to make. With those projections we formulate our plans to support the increased demand. Without those exercises we would always be responding last minute to the success of our business.

Because of direct response campaigns we are able to forecast pretty accurately what we will make.

[gerlindechristina]

Love the 'well, Roger' stories😊!

[THMN]

To say revenue forecasting is a waste if time is dumb. Revenue forecasting is necessary for resource planning. If i don‘t have an estimate of what i might sell, then i don‘t know what resources i may need - should i just go ahead an build a big, new factory if i have no idea what i might produce there?

[bondniko]

Be more specific on what you mean by "do not waste time on revenue forecasting", please.

[sirisaksirisak]

In play game strategy must change plan to win game. If no completer strategy is needn't.

[sanjeevthakur]

It is good learning, but how many companies are willing to take risk execution of Strategy rather than plan. Regarding planning future based on past data is being implemented in all the business spears and success is also measured based on past records.

[m.fazlurrahman]

Dad must be selling animal feed which has got patented ingredients unit with obviously a unique Vitamin that is hard to copy. Dad surely is a genius. Unless customers finds out “complimentary co-existing animals” feeding one another in a perpetual food-chain.

[jon]

The whole strategist vs execution monkey conversation is because people falsely believe in the one true helmsman fallacy of leadership. If the C-Suite isn't the ultimate decision maker entirely responsible for the success of the company, then why do they get paid so far beyond everyone else in the company? Roger's arguing in the face of the old adage, "it's difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on his not understanding it". Their wealth is a direct result of the lie that they are the ones making the company work, will the rest of the salt miners down in the trenches just work away stupidly, executing their vision. It's a carry over from Fredrick Taylor's completely psychotic view of people as machines.

[debbiecoleman]

Forecasting comments making me a bit uncomfortable