Beyond Strategy: The Impact of Next Generation Companies

Why is it that some companies turn out to be more successful when doing the opposite of what is prescribed in many of the current books on management and strategy?

Interestingly, many of the companies depicted as very successful companies in the standard literature end up not faring well over time - probably because they somehow end up in a dangerous autopilot mode. What this suggests is that the conventional literature cookbook isn’t telling us the whole story. Even if companies have temporarily developed from an ugly duckling to a white swan, the popular recipes for success may be clipping such companies’ wings.

Conversely, companies adhering to disruptive business models are seen to be more agile and to possess a higher degree of actionability. Such next generation companies are labeled black swans. They thrive because they are bold and embrace the great unknowns of tomorrow with open minds and eyes. At the same time, they are able to take advantage of incumbents’ fears, risk-aversion and blindness to what’s coming. Beyond Strategy delves into the inner workings of such black swans as Apple, Aravind, Emirates, Huawei, Natura, Ryanair and Tata and addresses the rise and fall of Nokia. The authors provide explosive evidence of black swan companies working against the norms to enter unchartered waters, determined not to adhere to the best practice of others, but rather to create a genuine next generation practice.

Next generation companies and their underlying philosophies are here to stay – are you?

Michael Moesgaard Andersen is an adjunct Professor of Strategy at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. He runs his own venture capital company, focused on creating next generation practices. Prior to this, he was the co-owner and CEO of a medium-sized, globally focused consulting business.

Flemming Poulfelt is Professor of Management and Strategy and Vice Dean at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. He has also served on faculties at universities in Europe, the US, and Australia.

The authors of this book also wrote the successful title Return on Strategy, published by Routledge in 2010.