Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Strategic Intent
    Strategic Intent
    Strategic Intent
    Ebook54 pages49 minutes

    Strategic Intent

    By Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad

    4.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    In this McKinsey Award-winning article, first published in May 1989, Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad explain that Western companies have wasted too much time and energy replicating the cost and quality advantages their global competitors already experience. Canon and other world-class competitors have taken a different approach to strategy: one of strategic intent. They begin with a goal that exceeds the company's present grasp and existing resources: "Beat Xerox"; "encircle Caterpillar." Then they rally the organization to close the gap by setting challenges that focus employees' efforts in the near to medium term: "Build a personal copier to sell for $1,000"; "cut product development time by 75%." Year after year, they emphasize competitive innovation—building a portfolio of competitive advantages; searching markets for "loose bricks" that rivals have left underdefended; changing the terms of competitive engagement to avoid playing by the leader's rules. The result is a global leadership position and an approach to competition that has reduced larger, stronger Western rivals to playing an endless game of catch-up.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarvard Business Review Press
    Release dateJun 21, 2010
    ISBN9781633691339
    Strategic Intent

    Read more from Gary Hamel

    Related to Strategic Intent

    Related ebooks

    Management For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      The Disruptive Issue II

      Jan 1, 2019

      The Disruptive Issue II
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      So, You Want To Be A CEO?

      Sep 1, 2018

      So, You Want To Be A CEO?
      10 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Behavioural Issue

      May 1, 2017

      AT ITS CORE, every organization is in the same business: changing behaviour. For-profit companies try to sway consumers to buy their products; governments try to convince citizens to pay their taxes on time; and an NGO might want to encourage familie

      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      How to Become a More Strategic Leader

      Sep 1, 2019

      MY CAREER AT FACEBOOK started in 2006 as its first intern. Three years later, I became a rookie manager at the age of 25. Today, I manage an organization of hundreds of people. This journey has brought countless new challenges, mistakes and lessons.

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Refreshed Vision And Refocused Strategic Pillars

      Jun 18, 2017

      After my first month stepping in from the Marketing Association (MA) board to be the acting CEO, I’ve been focused on bringing to life the strategic plan that was developed in conjunction with many stakeholders. I’d like to take this opportunity to s

      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      No Brand Is The New Brand

      Feb 19, 2018

      No Brand Is The New Brand
      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Presidents Aren't CEOs

      Jan 20, 2017

      Presidents Aren't CEOs
      9 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      HR Tech Helps Fuel a Culture of Innovation

      Aug 5, 2019

      Technology is the primary driver of innovation at all kinds of businesses. It’s widely used in areas such as marketing, supply chain logistics, commerce solutions, and others. Businesses that embrace technology are much more likely to develop a cultu

      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Underlying Dynamics Of The grocery Retail Segment

      Aug 20, 2021

      As it tackles the aftermath of the looting and unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, the listed grocery retail sector is itself at an inflection point. All the country’s Big Five retailers have new chief executives in place, with Shoprite’s Pieter Eng

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Lessons From A First-time CEO

      Jul 21, 2021

      Lessons From A First-time CEO
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Founder's Mentality

      May 1, 2018

      All companies strive for profitable growth, but you believe it eludes many for a common reason. What is it? In my 25 years of researching this topic and working with clients, one theme has come up again and again: complexity. In my view, complexity i

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Working, Fast and Slow

      May 25, 2016

      Working, Fast and Slow
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      How to Beat the Odds Against Entrepreneurial Success

      Sep 1, 2021

      The majority of entrepreneurial start-ups don’t survive. Why is that? The failure rate is substantial: More than 30 per cent close after five years and about 50 per cent after 10 years. The failure rate is so high because, like all business leaders t

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Questions for David Robertson, Innovation Expert, The Wharton School

      Jan 1, 2018

      There are two widely-recognized routes to innovation: incremental improvement and revolutionary disruption. Describe what you call ‘The Third Way’. These two traditional types of innovation are still really important: We should always be thinking abo

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Networking: What Leaders Need to Know

      Sep 1, 2019

      You have said that networks matter to outcomes that are important for both individuals and organizations. How so? The easiest way to think about it is that nobody can do it alone. We are no longer able to perform our complicated, interdependent jobs

      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Strategic Intent

    4.5/5

    3 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Contains details of some companies' strategies and their evolution along with the market they faced.

    Book preview

    Strategic Intent - Gary Hamel

    INTENT

    Today managers in many industries are working hard to match the competitive advantages of their new global rivals. They are moving manufacturing offshore in search of lower labor costs, rationalizing product lines to capture global scale economies, instituting quality circles and just-in-time production, and adopting Japanese human resource practices. When competitiveness still seems out of reach, they form strategic alliances—often with the very companies that upset the competitive balance in the first place.

    Important as these initiatives are, few of them go beyond mere imitation. Too many companies are expending enormous energy simply to reproduce the cost and quality advantages their global competitors already enjoy. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it will not lead to competitive revitalization. Strategies based on imitation are transparent to competitors who have already mastered them. Moreover, successful competitors rarely stand still. So it is not surprising that many executives feel trapped in a seemingly endless game of catch-up—regularly surprised by the new accomplishments of their rivals.

    For these executives and their companies, regaining competitiveness will mean rethinking many of the basic concepts of strategy.¹ As strategy has blossomed, the competitiveness of Western companies has withered. This may be coincidence, but we think not. We believe that the application of concepts such as strategic fit (between resources and opportunities), generic strategies (low cost vs. differentiation vs. focus), and the strategy hierarchy (goals, strategies, and tactics) have often abetted the process of competitive decline. The new global competitors approach strategy from a perspective that is fundamentally different from that which underpins Western management thought. Against such competitors, marginal adjustments to current orthodoxies are no more likely to produce competitive revitalization than are marginal improvements in operating efficiency. (The sidebar at the end of this article, Remaking Strategy, describes out research and summarizes the two contrasting approaches to strategy we see in large, multinational

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1