Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick: People, Probabilities, and Big Moves to Beat the Odds by Chris Bradley, Martin Hirt

Beat the odds with a bold strategy from McKinsey & Company Every once in a while, a genuinely fresh approach to business strategy appears ?legendary business professor Richard Rumelt, UCLA McKinsey & Company's newest, most definitive, and most irreverent book on strategy?which thousands of executives are already using?is a must-read for all C-suite executives looking to create winning corporate strategies. Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick is spearheading an empirical revolution in the field of strategy. Based on an extensive analysis of the key factors that drove the long-term performance of thousands of global companies, the book offers a ground-breaking formula that enables you to objectively assess your strategy's real odds of future success. This book is fundamental. The principles laid out here, with compelling data, are a great way around the social pitfalls in strategy development. ?Frans Van Houten, CEO, Royal Philips N.V. The authors have discovered that over a 10-year period, just 1 in 12 companies manage to jump from the middle tier of corporate performance?where 60% of companies reside, making very little economic profit?to the top quintile where 90% of global economic profit is made. This movement does not happen by magic?it depends on your company's current position, the trends it faces, and the big moves you make to give it the strongest chance of vaulting over the competition. This is not another strategy framework. Rather, Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick shows, through empirical analysis and the experiences of dozens of companies that have successfully made multiple big moves, that to dramatically improve performance, you have to overcome incrementalism and corporate inertia. A different kind of book?I couldn't put it down. Inspiring new insights on the facts of what it takes to move a company's performance, combined with practical advice on how to deal with real-life dynamics in management teams. ?Jane Fraser, CEO, Citigroup Latin America Editorial Reviews From the Inside Flap Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick is about unlocking big moves?because that is what it takes to beat the odds in business. Anchored in empirical evidence from thousands of companies, it reveals what really matters?and what does not?for exceptional performance. Despite their best intentions, business leaders often get bogged down by human biases and social dynamics that get in the way of clear strategy and strong execution. Just about anyone proposing a strategy comes in with a confident hockey stick projection. But how do you distinguish the true breakthrough plans from the fakes?and then carry through the tough choices needed to make good on those promises? Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick provides you with practical advice on how to change these dynamics in your strategy room and make the right strategic moves. Chris Bradley, Sven Smit, and Martin Hirt are all leaders in McKinsey's Strategy Practice. They have worked together over the last decade on a mission to advance the state of the art in strategic management, while serving corporate leaders around the world to help them beat the odds. From the Back Cover PRAISE FOR STRATEGY BEYOND THE HOCKEY STICK A different kind of book?I couldn't put it down. Inspiring new insights on the facts of what it takes to move a company's performance, combined with practical advice on how to deal with real-life dynamics in management teams. ?JANE FRASER, CEO, Citigroup Latin America A refreshing new look at what drives corporate performance. Even in fast-growing Internet businesses, people and their interactions are at the core of developing and executing strategies. The ideas shared in this book inspire fresh thinking and bold actions. ?MARTIN LAU, President, Tencent Technology This book is fundamental?I have seen hockey sticks in business plans more than I like to admit. The principles laid out here, with compelling data, are a great way around the social pitfalls in strategy development. ?FRANS VAN HOUTEN, CEO, Royal Philips N.V. Sustaining institutions long-term often means determining what must evolve. Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick provides a roadmap for strategic evolution and a toolkit for identifying big moves that will take already strong organizations to the next level of performance. ?WENDELL WEEKS, Chairman and CEO, Corning Incorporated Every once in a while, a genuinely fresh approach to business strategy appears. Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick delivers exactly that. Its analysis of the human elements in strategy-making?social, psychological, and political?cuts to the heart of why most strategies are banal and fail to focus action. If you want to break out of the rut, get this book. ?PROF. RICHARD RUMELT, UCLA Anderson School of Management The great contribution of this book is that it joins the 'hard data' side to the equally crucial?and largely ignored?arena of social dynamics and human leadership. It is this rare combo of the 'hard' and the 'soft' that makes Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick so distinctive. ?PROF. ROBERT KEGAN, Harvard Graduate School of Education About the Author SVEN SMIT is a Senior Partner in Amsterdam. He leads McKinsey Western Europe and, before that, led McKinsey's Strategy Practice. He is the co-author of the bestselling book Granularity of Growth. MARTIN HIRT is a Senior Partner in Greater China. He leads McKinsey's Global Strategy & Corporate Finance Practice. CHRIS BRADLEY is a Partner in Sydney. He leads McKinsey's Business Strategy service line.