Professor Richard Rumelt (USA)

Richard Rumelt is the Harry and Elsa Kunin Professor of Business & Society at UCLA, a graduate school of business and management. He was voted to be one of the “Top 50 Business Thinkers” in the world (rank 20 in 2011) by the Thinkers50 program, sponsored by the Harvard Business Review and McGraw Hill.

28 November (2.30pm – 5.30pm) including afternoon refreshments

ABOUT THE MASTER CLASS
In this workshop, participants learn about good diagnosis and practice diagnosing strategic issues facing a number of firms. Using real-world example, Professor Rumelt leads participants though the pitfalls and avenues of diagnosing strategic situations, with an emphasis on identifying keystone issues that are both critical and actionable. The workshop then addresses the issue of strategic action, providing examples and exercises on the identifications of proximate objectives and the design of coherent action plans.

This Executive Workshop session will illustrate how top executives can actually break the bad-strategy habit. The main topics covered will be these:

• Why is there so much bad strategy? What are the organizational, cultural, and cognitive reasons for the widespread avoidance of proactive problem-solving?
• What are the principle sources of power of a good strategy? Much of the modern discussion of strategy has focused on the economics of competition. This way of looking at things is very useful, but misses the more general and powerful tools that talented strategists use. These include anticipation, concentration, the creation of proximate objectives, the understanding of chain-link situations, the power of design, the power of focus, the distinction between good and bad growth, the nature of advantage, riding the waves of dynamic change, and understanding entropy and inertia.
• How can individuals and group improve their ability to perform deep and useful diagnoses of their situations?
• Can a “good strategy” process be wedded to ordinary “strategic planning?”
• What is “strategic navigation” and how can a top management team use this tool?