Strategic Thinking: A Step-By-Step Approach to Strategy, Second Edition [Paperback]

Simon Wootten (Author), Terry Horne (Author), Simon Wootton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2002

"Strategic Thinking: A Practical Approach to Strategy" takes the reader step by step through a strategic planning cycle. It poses penetrating questions about business strategy. By answering them and thinking through the important issues that they raise, the reader will be in a better position to give their organization a sense of direction and write a clear, focused strategic plan.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"We enjoyed reading this easily assimilated text." -- Boardroom, January/February 2001

About the Author

Simon Wootten is an NHS Business Manager with Innovax (UK) Ltd.

Terry Horne is Course Director, MA in Strategic Change Management, Lancashire Business School.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Kogan Page Business Books; 2nd edition (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749432187
• ISBN-13: 978-0749432188
• Product Dimensions: 0.2 x 6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #568,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

100 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A handy, no-frills guide to kick-start your planning!, March 14, 2001

By 

Lee Say Keng "KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURER/TECHNOLOGY... (Ho Chi Minh City/Singapore) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strategic Thinking: A Step-By-Step Approach to Strategy, Second Edition (Paperback)

Of so many business planning books, which I hold in high regard, this one is the simplest to read and follow, and yet still packed with useful tools and powerful tips. To some extent, I would consider it to be a no-frills, straight-to-the-point, hands-on kind of planning book.

In a nut shell, it provides a step by step approach, with a total of 9 steps, and involves 3 critical stages: gathering information, formulating ideas, and planning actions.

In fact, it has many thought-provoking Prompt Questions and clearly-defined Checklists to help you execute your thinking and planning work - starting from scanning the environment (to find out what's out there), measuring your organisational health, creating more options, right up to implementing an action plan with a monitoring system, using Gantt Charts. These unique features are intended to stimulate and guide all your thinking processes, with each of the nine steps involving a different thinking process.

As a mater of fact, by the time you have gone through all the Prompt Questions and completed all the Checklists, you would have already thought through analytically, numerically, reflectively, predictively, imaginatively, visually, creatively, critically, empathetically, ethically, pragmatically and politically. Also, they have been structured in such a way that you would have developed strategic conversations skills with your people across all levels of the organisation, in the course of the planning exercise.

From a strategic thinking standpoint, this book really scores high marks from me, in spite of its simplicity. When reading this book, it reminds me of two other good business planning books with practical "hands-on" features: `Breakaway Planning,' by Paul Levesque, whose book I have also reviewed earlier. In comparison, `Breakaway Planning' gives a more detailed treatment. The other is `Putting It All Together: A Guide to Strategic Thinking,' by William Rothschild, whose book also gives a more detailed treatment.

This book also comes with a CD-Rom, which provides a business case example, using the 9-step approach.

My only `adverse' comment about the book - it would have been more complete if the authors have crafted a global flow chart at the end pages, showing all the 9 steps in sequence within the 3 prescribed stages, in concert with all the applicable thinking processes and resulting action possibilities. This would have been a superb feature for more visually-oriented readers, like me.

In summing up, if you do not have much time to read, and want a proven tool to help kick-start your planning, this one is for you.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strategic Thinking by Simon Wootton and Terry Horne, May 19, 2005

By 

Elijah Chingosho "Dr Elijah Chingosho" (Nairobi, Kenya) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strategic Thinking: A Step-By-Step Approach to Strategy, Second Edition (Paperback)

In Strategic Thinking, Simon Wootton and Terry Horne teach step-by-step the thinking skills required for sound strategic planning. The authors set out questions to ask and teach how to learn to formulate strategies and write clear and concise strategic plans. The steps taught are easy to apply in the real world. The authors used a very practical approach, and wrote in simple language. The book also has a CD ROM with practical examples that can be used as templates to facilitate the formulation of strategies.

The book teaches a nine step process covering the gathering of information, formulating ideas and planning action. The gathering of information involves an analysis of what is changing, carrying out an audit and reflecting on what one knows. In formulating ideas, one is required to predict where the organisation is headed, decide where it should be going and take care of obstacles to achieving organisational objectives. Planning action involves thinking creatively about alternative courses of action, evaluating their feasibility and making decisions on implementation of the plans.

The book enables me to carry out a systematic process of arriving at optimum plans and strategies for my organisation. I am now aware of the full range of issues to be considered in a systematic thinking process by examining a set of relevant questions and answering them objectively before formulating strategies and writing clear and concise strategic plans.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good for beginners, January 25, 2009

By 

Serdar Yurdakul (Istanbul-Türkiye) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Strategic Thinking: A Step-By-Step Approach to Strategy, Second Edition (Paperback)

This is a reference book for beginners on strategic planning.If you are looking for a more complete resource,this is not what you are looking for.A book for management students...
Serdar