Essential Challenges of Strategic Management

Praise for Essential Challenges of Strategic Management

"Bill Rouse provides helpful insight to make any business, and in particular any high- tech business, perform better."-Dennis A. Roberson, Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer Motorola

"A well-organized, easy-to-understand bible for all strategic managers and leaders."-Dr. Stanley G. Rosen, Director of Strategic Planning Boeing Satellite Systems

"A must-read for managers seeking clarity and focus as they lead organizations through chaotic times."-William C. Kessler, Vice President for Enterprise Productivity Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company

From TQM to business process reengineering to knowledge management, the last several decades have witnessed the rise and fall of many a management panacea. As a consequence, a general feeling is now brewing among disillusioned managers worldwide that perhaps the time has come to abandon the impractical quest for an all-encompassing solution to management problems and get back to basics. Essential Challenges of Strategic Management takes a major step towards realizing that goal.

Drawing upon the experiences of literally thousands of executives and senior managers working in all industry sectors, as well as government and nonprofit organizations, this book zeros in on the fundamental challenges faced by every senior manager, regardless of the business he or she is in, and describes a range of approaches to those challenges developed by women and men working at many of today's leading organizations.

Designed as a ready source of inspiration and ideas for busy executives and senior managers, Essential Challenges of Strategic Management consists of concise, independent chapters, each dedicated to a different strategic challenge. Throughout, celebrated entrepreneur, Fortune 500 consultant, author and educator, William Rouse uses fascinating and instructive case studies and vignettes to illustrate the best practices in strategic management and vividly describes various approaches, tools, and techniques. Additionally, he provides clear-cut guidelines for selecting and implementing the solutions most likely to succeed in a given situation.

WILLIAM B. ROUSE, PhD, is CEO of Enterprise Support Systems, a software solutions, consulting services, and training firm specializing in strategic planning, market and product planning, and organizational change. He has consulted with more than one hundred large and small enterprises in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors where he worked with several thousand executives and senior managers.