I realise I haven’t posted about this here before – in my quote for the cover, I said this, and I meant it:
Benjamin P Taylor, Chief Executive, Public Service Transformation Academy: ‘Every now and then, a book comes along which seems to encompass the whole of a field, explain it, critique it, and surpass it. Patterns of Strategy does just that for the practice of organisational strategy. Once you have read Patterns, you can never go back. It combines a learned and enjoyable treatise with immensely practical usability and should be on every leader’s desk, as a daily reference.’
(disclosure: I know Lucy and Patrick, am involved in www.systemspractice.org with them, especially Patrick, read and commented on a draft, and am accredited to use the approach and the ‘board game’ workshop).
The approach draws on systems thinking in a range of ways, most critically the concept of structural coupling (another syscoi.com omission which I’ll remedy shortlY).
It’s a book, a board game/workshop, and there are a few explainers in the video and website – UK Amazon Smile link for the book: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Patterns-Strategy-Patrick-Hoverstadt/dp/1138242675/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=hoverstadt+loh+patterns+of+strategy&qid=1563355321&s=gateway&sr=8-1
video introduction here:
Patrick says in a recent LinkedIn comment:
There are several reasons conventional strategy doesn’t work, but there is one which on its own is capable of accounting for the failure rate.
Whether you start your (conventional) strategy from the inside out or the outside in, virtually none of the conventional approaches take into account what anyone else is going to do. They all assume its purely about us and what we want.
So imagine trying to drive down the road – fixed single-mindedly on where you want to go and ignoring what everyone else is doing – you wouldn’t get far without crashing and surprise surprise, strategy is no different. Which is something the military has known for millenia, but business has ignored.
If you want strategy that works, you have to look at the dynamics of relationships as the basis of it.
The good news is that this is a) a lot easier, b) a lot faster and c) a lot more effective.
Source: Patterns of StrategyPatterns of Strategy
FRACTAL
Patterns of Strategy
Patterns of Strategy is a revolutionary approach to developing business strategy. It’s effective and simple to use, yet extremely powerful.
Instead of simply looking at other organisations, this approach focuses on the relationships between organisations. It gives you a framework to understand the forces acting on your strategic relationships, so that you can tap into them and design them to work for you. And this applies to all the players, from competitors to partners, from the regulator to the marketplace itself. In Patterns of Strategy, developing strategy changes the nature of each relationship to improve your strategic fit.
The approach includes 80 patterns or strategy ‘recipes’ which describe the manoeuvres required to achieve that strategy, and performance indicators to assess performance. The patterns includes strategies for different types of organisation or context, such as small players, suppliers, defence, competition, collaboration, growth, market-changing, managing the herd, and cunning plans. There’s a toolkit which leaders and strategists can use to explore their strategic relationships, and it’s really fast, so that that you can review your strategy whenever things change.
Reviews for the Patterns of Strategy book:
Dr Simon Haslam, Head of Strategy Faculty, Institute of Directors: ‘Patterns of Strategy makes a refreshing addition to the strategy literature. ‘
David Atkinson, COO, Mindgym: ‘… beautiful in its simplicity.’
Paul Barnett, CEO, Strategic Management Bureau & Strategic Management Forum: ‘Patterns of Strategy is the first major new approach to strategy in a long time. Not re-packaged versions of existing ideas, but a completely new, and radically different, approach. The book offers descriptions of 80 common patterns of strategy in a ‘recipe book’ style, together with detailed advice on when, and how, to use them, and in what situations. It will be a “must have” for strategists.’
Prof. John Brocklesby, Head of School of Management, Victoria University of Wellington: ‘This is a novel and very significant contribution to the strategy literature.’
Ed Straw, Director PWC Global (Retd), author of Stand and Deliver: ‘Here, at last, is the unified field theory of strategy. Patterns of Strategy takes the many influencers of organisational performance and coheres them into a systemic model.’
Benjamin P Taylor, Chief Executive, Public Service Transformation Academy: ‘Every now and then, a book comes along which seems to encompass the whole of a field, explain it, critique it, and surpass it. Patterns of Strategy does just that for the practice of organisational strategy. Once you have read Patterns, you can never go back. It combines a learned and enjoyable treatise with immensely practical usability and should be on every leader’s desk, as a daily reference.’
Jan De Visch, Executive Professor Entrepreneurial MBA, Flanders Business School, Catholic University of Leuven: ‘Patterns of Strategy is practical in its approach, yet deep in wisdom. It is a must read… a rare combination of depth in thinking and ease of use. The brief case descriptions made me aware of the invisible drivers of strategy that dictate where one will go unless one actually changes the nature and direction of the structural coupling. It offers a uniquely systematic and sophisticated approach to the formulation of strategy for any business leader who wants to rethink their approach to strategy, considering both the opportunities in collaboration and in competition.’
Axel Kravatzky, Director, Syntegra Change Architects Ltd and Founding Chairman Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute Ltd: ‘Patterns of Strategy is a truly novel and powerful approach to working with strategy and should be required reading for, and in the toolkit of, all executives and boards of directors.
Consultants will love the Patterns of Strategy approach because it helps them to develop better strategies with clients who will appreciate the rigour, novelty, and the feeling of empowerment that comes with this approach.’
Stephen Brewis – Chief Scientist, BT: ‘Patterns of Strategy has changed my thinking.’
Gareth Marlow, COO, Redgate: ‘Patterns of Strategy is an approach which delivers a significant shift in mindset.’
Systems Community of Inquiry 