HR!Day341 - Rethinking Strategy in 2021
- --- Humanity Rising Day 341 - Monday October 18, 2021 (GoTo Bottom)
The Economist once declared that “Nobody really knows what strategy is,” suggesting that there is no commonly accepted, singular definition for a concept that – at least theoretically – plays a significant role in organizations of all types and sizes. Back in 2013, Sir Lawrence Freedman authored Strategy: A History, painstakingly tracing the evolution of the concept from ancient to modern times in military, political, and business contexts, evolving from management focus on organizing and controlling workers in newly forming industrial environments to vertical integration (starring John D. Rockefeller) and manufacturing techniques (starring Henry Ford) and up to the present.
In mid-2021, with all that has happened in the last 18 months, it seems appropriate to consider what strategy means to us moving forward. How should strategy guide our redesigning and/or resuming “normal” activity after the pandemic? These months have exposed gender and racial inequities, as well as environmental challenges, in new ways—so how should we reconsider our desired future state and our plans to achieve it – the essence of Strategy?
If we were to begin authoring Strategy: A History Volume 2 , what would the opening chapters describe? How can Strategy be used to support collective activity and shared purpose in a variety of organizational contexts? This panel discussion will address these very questions from a variety of perspectives, including business, social change, politics, and technological diffusion.
Presenters
- Joseph Jaworski has devoted much of his life to exploring the deeper dimensions of transformational leadership. As founder and Chairman of Generon International, Joseph advises CEOs and senior executives in Fortune 500 companies. He specializes in the design and execution of large scale organizational change as well as strategy formation and implementation. He is a pioneer and prominent thought leader in the discipline of 'Strategic Foresight', enabling leaders to deepen their capacity for tactical and strategic insight.
- Cat Tully is the founder of SOIF, the School of International Futures. Prior to setting up SOIF, Cat was Strategy Project Director at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Senior Policy Adviser in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Before working in government, she worked in strategy and international relations across the not-for-profit and business sectors, including Christian Aid, Technoserve and Procter and Gamble. Cat has also worked for the UN, the EU Commission and the World Bank. Cat has degrees from Cambridge and Princeton Universities. She is a trustee of the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development, a member of the UN Learning Advisory Council for the 2030 Agenda and a Global board member of Academics Stand Against Poverty.
- Jonathan Sappey is an independent consultant focusing on Strategy, Creativity, and Leadership for mid-sized companies. He has worked for and on behalf of technology companies to develop corporate, product, and market strategies across the commercial, operational, and human capital dimensions. Jon is passionate about individual and collective potential, and the creative expression of purpose. He holds degrees from Harvard and Yale Universities.
Recommended reading and links for those who want to learn more:
This session was inspired by the book Strategy: A History by Sir Laurence Freedman. There are a number of videos of his talks on Youtube, and summaries of the book can be found in various places on the Internet.
Convener:
- Jim Garrison, President, Ubiquity University
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Presenters
