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StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 57 – An Interview with Robert Simons, author of Seven Strategy Questions

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 57 – An Interview with Robert Simons, author of Seven Strategy Questions explores the seven strategy questions that can help an organization’s leaders identify gaps within their strategy and its execution. By asking and effectively answering these questions, executives and managers gain the insight necessary to better align their organization’s day-to-day operations to the optimal achievement of mission goals; thereby enhancing overall bottom line results. During our discussion, Robert Simons, author of Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution, shares with us his insights regarding:

  • the benefits of routinely asking the right strategy questions
  • the key Seven Strategy Questions and what makes them so important
  • how leaders can formally incorporate the Seven Strategy Questions into their business processes
  • actions executives should take to develop rising managers so that they instinctively ask the Seven Strategy Questions as a part of their internal thought process and the way they interact with their staffs

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Robert shares in Seven Strategy Questions and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from his Harvard Business School Working Knowledge website.   Robert’s book, Seven Strategy Questions, can be purchased by clicking here.

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About the Author

Robert Simons, author of Seven Strategy Questions, is the Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. For twenty-five years, he has taught accounting, management control, and strategy implementation courses in the Harvard MBA and Executive Education programs. Robert’s research has been published in the Harvard Business Review and the Strategic Management Journal, among others. To read Robert’s complete biography, click here.

Corporate Cultures – Culture Trumps Strategy

Culture is hard to quantify but its impact on business operations is unmistakable. Even the well-conceived strategy cannot withstand the onslaught of a counter focused culture. In order for a strategy to be implementable, it must be formulated to work within the confines of the corporate culture. Alternatively, the corporate culture must be changed before the strategy is implemented… typically a years long process.


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Capabilities Driven Mergers & Acquisitions – The Path to Coherence, part 2 of 5

What role do capabilities play in successful mergers?

Too big to fail has proven to be a flawed notion. In The Path to Coherence, Booz & Company partners Gerald Adolph and Paul Leinwand continue their discussion on the role of capabilities in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and explain why pursuing a capabilities-driven M&A strategy produces more successful companies that enjoy a right to win.

The Path to Coherence is the second of a series of five interviews focusing on capabilities-driven mergers and acquisitions. Other editions include:


About the Authors

Gerald Adolph is a New York-based Senior Partner with Booz & Company with a specialty in strategy and operations for technology-driven businesses. His work primarily focuses on assisting clients with growth strategy, new business development, and industry restructuring. He has led numerous assignments in corporate and portfolio strategy as well as business unit strategy. In addition, he deals with value chain and industry restructuring driven by technology changes, and how companies respond to these disruptions and opportunities. Gerald is the co-author of Merge Ahead: Mastering the Five Enduring Trends of Artful M&A with Justin Pettit. To read Gerald’s complete biography, click here.

Paul Leinwand is a Booz & Company partner based in Chicago. He works in the consumer, media, and digital practice and focuses on capabilities-driven strategy for consumer products companies. Paul is the co-author of The Essential Advantage: How to Win with a Capabilities-Driven Strategy. To read Paul’s complete biography, click here.

Social Media Marketing and the Strategic Shift from Destination to Audience

Social media marketing has transitioned from being an ancillary marketing strategy to become a strategic business imperative. All businesses and brands need a social Web presence for a single, fundamental reason – that’s where the customers are. Brands that aren’t represented on the social Web are missing a significant opportunity that another business is more than happy to seize.


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About the Author

Susan Gunelius is a 20-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored numerous books about marketing, branding, and social media. Her marketing-related articles can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, FoxBusiness.com, WashingtonPost.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. She is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company, and speaks about marketing at events around the world. To read Susan’s complete biography, click here.

Capabilities Driven Mergers & Acquisitions – The New Meaning of Scale, part 1 of 5

What role do capabilities play in successful mergers?

Too big to fail has proven to be a flawed notion. In The New Meaning of Scale, Booz & Company partners Gerald Adolph and Paul Leinwand begin their discussion on the role of capabilities in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and explain why pursuing a capabilities-driven M&A strategy produces more successful companies that enjoy a right to win.

The New Meaning of Scale is the first of a series of five interviews focusing on capabilities-driven mergers and acquisitions. Editions to follow include:


About the Authors

Gerald Adolph is a New York-based Senior Partner with Booz & Company with a specialty in strategy and operations for technology-driven businesses. His work primarily focuses on assisting clients with growth strategy, new business development, and industry restructuring. He has led numerous assignments in corporate and portfolio strategy as well as business unit strategy. In addition, he deals with value chain and industry restructuring driven by technology changes, and how companies respond to these disruptions and opportunities. Gerald is the co-author of Merge Ahead: Mastering the Five Enduring Trends of Artful M&A with Justin Pettit. To read Gerald’s complete biography, click here.

Paul Leinwand is a Booz & Company partner based in Chicago. He works in the consumer, media, and digital practice and focuses on capabilities-driven strategy for consumer products companies. Paul is the co-author of The Essential Advantage: How to Win with a Capabilities-Driven Strategy. To read Paul’s complete biography, click here.