{"id":10036,"date":"2021-11-22T07:17:41","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T12:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=10036"},"modified":"2022-09-29T11:29:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T16:29:20","slug":"the-4-schools-of-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/the-4-schools-of-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"The 4 Schools of Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Over the years, countless business frameworks<\/a> on Corporate and Business Strategy have been developed.\u00a0 We can categorize these frameworks into 4 schools of thought.<\/p>\n

Let’s call them the 4 Schools of Strategy<\/a>, which are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Position School<\/li>\n
  2. The Execution School<\/li>\n
  3. The Adaption School<\/li>\n
  4. The Concentration School<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    We can represent these 4 schools on a 2×2 matrix, depicted below on the slide.<\/p>\n

    On this 2×2, we have also mapped\u00a0some of the most well-known and widely adopted Strategy frameworks against the 4 Schools of Strategy landscape.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    On this 2×2, the x-axis represents the point of view on authorship.\u00a0 \u00a0This dimension addresses the question of who is responsible for major strategy decisions.\u00a0 At the left (many) are those who favor collective choice. In other words, strategic thinking is installed among as many people throughout the organization as possible.\u00a0 At the right (few) are those who favor top-down formulation. In other words, Strategy is developed by the few\u2014the designated expert planners and senior executives\u2014while the rest of the organization is dedicated to execution of the Strategy.<\/p>\n

    \"\"The y-axis represents time orientation.\u00a0\u00a0At the top (future), we have those who favor moving toward a long-term destination that may be different from the organization\u2019s current position.\u00a0 At the opposite end (present), we have those who favor letting the organization\u2019s strategic direction emerge from its current state.<\/p>\n

    It is actually common for organizations to rotate from one School of Strategy to another over time.<\/p>\n

    Now, let’s define each School of Strategy in further depth.<\/p>\n

    The Position School<\/h2>\n

    The idea of Strategic Planning began to take form in the 1960s, driven by an increased availability of data (e.g. costs, prices, performance metrics) and economic uncertainty.<\/p>\n

    From the process of Strategic Planning<\/a>, a Strategy was developed.\u00a0 This was an overarching plan for growth, usually formalized in a business document and endorsed by the CEO.\u00a0 This Strategy Plan aimed at creating a dominant, unassailable market position for the organization in the market.<\/p>\n

    These early efforts by the \u201cPosition School\u201d believed successful Strategy emerged through the comprehensive analysis of all critical factors:<\/p>\n