To paraphrase the Ronseal ad, this book does exactly what it says on the cover. It is a guide and a workbook, and makes no fancy claims when it comes to sorting out your problems. What you get is a simple and practical approach to outlining a strategy for your business. Part one offers exercises in formulating a strategy and part two is a reference section designed to complement the models outlined in part one. Naturally, the book defends the philosophy of having a strategy over the jack-be-nimble approach of the dotcom era, where opportunism was the driving force. In defence of that much-maligned sector, very few knew where it was going as traditional pointers seemed inadequate when one was riding the crest of the wave.
Becalmed in the shallows, with the tide ebbing at a rate of knots, one gets the impression that strategy will make a comeback, just as the suit is recolonising the office, as dressing down has unfortunate associations with a plummeting Nasdaq.
McCormick's stance is simple - managers cannot afford the luxury of saying the future is unknowable and leave it at that. Decisions on hiring and firing, equipment investment and allocation of resources will all have a bearing on what your company will do in the future and require that managers have a view about the shape of things to come. The book aims to act as a nudge in the right direction. To map the road to the future you need signposts, which are provided by defining what your business does, who it serves and what it provides this group with. The next thing is to define long-term goals and McCormick recommends setting three to five-year time limits.
Armed with this knowledge, it should become easier to get a handle on the environment that you are operating in and establish its parameters, whether legislative and public policy changes are a factor, whether the economy in general is in good health, and who your major competitors are. The book outlines other signposts such as opportunities and threats, key success factors, a realistic assessment of your own company and financial needs. At the end of each exercise there is a reference to part two, where these models are discussed at greater length.
McCormick's book is easily navigable and to the point, as befits a senior specialist in business strategy at the Irish Management Institute. Its main drawback is that it looks like hundreds of others that roll off the business presses, down to the vaguely conceptual cover. That caveat aside, it is a handy companion.
