Why is it that some companies turn out to be more successful when doing the opposite of what is prescribed in many of the current books on management and strategy?

Interestingly, many of the companies depicted as very successful companies in the standard literature end up not faring well over time - probably because they somehow end up in a dangerous autopilot mode. What this suggests is that the conventional literature cookbook isn t telling us the whole story. Even if companies have temporarily developed from an ugly duckling to a white swan, the popular recipes for success may be clipping such companies wings.

Conversely, companies adhering to disruptive business models are seen to be more agile and to possess a higher degree of actionability. Such next generation companies are labeled black swans. They thrive because they are bold and embrace the great unknowns of tomorrow with open minds and eyes. At the same time, they are able to take advantage of incumbents fears, risk-aversion and blindness to what s coming. Beyond Strategy delves into the inner workings of such black swans as Apple, Aravind, Emirates, Huawei, Natura, Ryanair and Tata and addresses the rise and fall of Nokia. The authors provide explosive evidence of black swan companies working against the norms to enter unchartered waters, determined not to adhere to the best practice of others, but rather to create a genuine next generation practice.

Next generation companies and their underlying philosophies are here to stay are you?"

Why is it that many companies meticulously following recipes on management and strategy fail? Did Google, Skype, Ryanair, Huawei and a number of other successful companies buy into a well thought out strategy and adhered to that over time? How do companies deliberately opting out of the recipe game and opting into the out-of-the-box-thinking fare? In short, why is it that some companies achieve a higher Return on Strategy than others?

Whereas Return on Investment (RoI) has attracted increased attention over the last couple of decades, little, if any, attention is being paid to whether companies do at all achieve Return on Strategy (RoS) and how.

This book provides an overview of contemporary strategy literature and recipes brushed up with a view to identifying explanations as to how recipes has seldom worked as intended. One out of several reasons rests on the fact that recipes do not take the so-called X-factor into account.

With the X-factor as the starting point the book examines a sample of 50 global companies of which some has achieved a remarkable high Return on Strategy and others failed. The 50 companies covers most continents as some are from the North America, some are from the European continent and others are from different parts of the emerging Asian region ? threatening companies from the Western hemisphere.

The book explains the reason behind success and failures and provides practical tools as to how companies may increase their Return on Strategy. In the toolbox, you will find a framework on how to increase the Return on Strategy as well a number of dynamic positioning tools, road maps and bearing points. Invariably, more and more companies - including consultants, business leaders and MBAs - now work diligently in order to increase their Return on Strategy and the best of them are here to stay successfully ? are you?

Today, innovation does not just occur in large and incumbent R&D organizations. Instead, it often emerges from the start-up community. In the new innovation economy, the key is to quickly find pieces of innovation, some of which may already be developed. Therefore, there is the need for more advanced means of searching and identifying innovation wherever it may occurs. We point to the importance of data-driven innovation based on digital platforms, as their footprints are growing rapidly and in sync with the shift from analogue to digital innovation workflows. This book offers companies insights on paths to business success and tools that will help them find the right route through the various options when it comes to the digital platforms where innovations may be discovered and from which value may be appropriated. The world hungers for growth and one of the most important vehicles for growth is innovation. In light of the new digital platforms from which data-driven innovation can be extracted, major parts of analogue workflows will be substituted with digital workflows. Data-driven innovation and digital innovation workflows are here to stay. Are you?

Why is it that some companies turn out to be more successful when doing the opposite of what is prescribed in many of the current books on management and strategy? Interestingly, many of the companies depicted as very successful companies in the standard literature end up not faring well over time - probably because they somehow end up in a dangerous autopilot mode. What this suggests is that the conventional literature cookbook isn't telling us the whole story. Even if companies have temporarily developed from an ugly duckling to a white swan, the popular recipes for success may be clipping such companies' wings. Conversely, companies adhering to disruptive business models are seen to be more agile and to possess a higher degree of actionability. Such next generation companies are labeled black swans. They thrive because they are bold and embrace the great unknowns of tomorrow with open minds and eyes. At the same time, they are able to take advantage of incumbents' fears, risk-aversion and blindness to what's coming. Beyond Strategy delves into the inner workings of such black swans as Apple, Aravind, Emirates, Huawei, Natura, Ryanair and Tata and addresses the rise and fall of Nokia. The authors provide explosive evidence of black swan companies working against the norms to enter unchartered waters, determined not to adhere to the best practice of others, but rather to create a genuine next generation practice. Next generation companies and their underlying philosophies are here to stay - are you?