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Summary

The above questions are part of a small toolkit that I send to the
boards of companies who are considering developing a market
dominance strategy prior to our first meeting. They are designed
to enable the board to easily answer the questions:
– Where and what do we want to be?
– Where and what are we now?
– What is likely to be our preferred route for getting from where

we are to where we want to be?
– Is our strategy capable of being implemented in the real world?
– Will our tactics provide the best platform for achieving our

strategy?
– Can we carry all stakeholders – employees, customers,

suppliers, distributors and the society in which we operate –
with us?
– Can we turn stakeholders into proactive advocates for our
business?
– Are we convinced that we have identified the best, most
economical way forward?

We will have much to say about strategy and tactics later, but in the
meantime the above is a taster. If you would like to take a look at the best,
proven tools and techniques for developing a strategy pages 16–35 of Key
Management Solutions will give you some ideas.

Life-long learning – just-in-time

The second point encapsulated in the question is that of building and sus-
taining a genuine learning community. Arie de Geus’s Harvard research
makes it clear that, without exception, long-lived and prosperous corpora-
tions build genuine learning communities rather than paying mere lip
service to the concept. They practise what I have described as “life-long
learning – just-in-time”. The questions that Hamel and Prahalad raise
may lead you to consider the following.

Life-long learning strategy

n Do we encourage our people to value learning?
– Do we encourage them to share what they learn with their
colleagues?

Introduction xxiii