Optimizing Strategic Decisions

Why is this program relevant today?

The program gives you a framework for thinking about strategy decisions—not just in abstract terms, but also in terms of practice and execution. It helps you understand the big picture and has special importance in today's highly uncertain business environment. This is exactly when it is important to have the ability to step back and understand the context and the different possible choices one may make, including possibly crafting and implementing a new strategy.

Consider the Great Recession, for example. It affected everybody, but some firms were able to recover better than others. I think that the difference in resilience is linked to various factors, including strategy and organizational structure. Those are managerial choices that are amply covered in the course.

What is most unique about the program?

Other programs tend to look at one specific aspect of management in terms of a function, a market, or an industry. This program has a broader general management perspective. As such, the principles of competitive positioning, competitive analysis, and strategic change can be applied across a broad range of functions, industries, and geographies. I think that this general management perspective is quite unique to the program.

How would you describe your research?

I'm an economist who is interested in understanding how management and managers affect firm performance. I explore these questions by translating "soft" management concepts into high-quality data that is amenable to cutting edge empirical analysis. In one of these projects—the World Management Survey—we've collected data from approximately 15,000 organizations in 35 countries. In another one—the Executive Time Use Survey—we've codified and analyzed calendar data on more the 1,000 CEOs from around the world and examined the association between CEO behavior and firm performance.

A stylized fact emerging from these various projects is that management basics are lagging in many companies. Everywhere you look—even in the United States—there is a distribution of well-managed and badly managed firms. As you might expect, firms that are well managed are more productive and profitable, and they survive longer. In other words, the adoption of management best practices really matters for performance. The vast differences in management are a real puzzle—many basic management concepts are well known in the business community, yet they do not appear to be uniformly adopted. My research tries to understand the obstacles that prevent managers from adopting managerial best practices, or to pursue the behavior that is most conducive to performance.

A specific focus of my research is to build a better understanding of how the actions of CEOs and top managers more broadly influence middle-level management. My research suggests that differences in how companies perform and are managed depend on choices that are made at the top of the organization. This research is developing a different taxonomy, if you will, of management “styles.” One key finding emerging from this line of work is that CEO behavior has to be tailored to the specific needs of the firm, especially when the objective is to push for growth.

How does this research inform the program's content?

My research is especially relevant in dealing with strategy execution. Strategy in its ideal form is typically represented as a unique and integrated set of choices that positions a firm for long-term, sustainable competitive advantage. My research helps inform managers on how to move from the design to the implementation of these choices.

How do you teach these ideas in the program?

We will touch upon strategy design and strategy execution throughout the course. Towards the end of the program, we will also dedicate a full day to a hands-on strategy exercise, which will include exercises and discussions on both strategy design and strategy execution. This exercise will include a section on how different strategic choices may have very different implications for how an executive should spend his or her time—this is an issue that is directly related to execution.

What are some of the topics that you will cover in the program?

We will explore classic strategic issues of positioning and competition—these are issues and tradeoffs that are part of everyday life for every company. Getting a really good sense of how to think about basic positioning choices and competition is a key managerial skill that this program will help develop.

Another part of the program speaks to the ratio of scope, in terms of both industries and geographies. Again, when making scope decisions, it's important to understand the trade-offs of the choices you make. So when a company realizes that there is a market opportunity, they have to decide how they are going to exploit it—if at all. Different choices—say, a partnership versus an acquisition or internal development—will have different costs and benefits that managers should be able to objectively evaluate.

Finally, the implementation exercise will give you a concrete way to think about all of these issues in terms of your own business.

Who is ideally suited for this program?

The program is designed for people who have general management responsibilities in their firms or key roles in strategy. The course is especially relevant to managers, helping them think about decisions that may involve long-term horizons or that may include a significant allocation of human capital or financial resources. Managers, chief strategy officers, and executives with general management responsibilities will benefit from this program.

What do you enjoy most about teaching in HBS Executive Education?

I enjoy the fact that these programs always provide the opportunity to learn from the participants. This is also a virtue of the case method, which lends itself to discussions that may vary considerably year to year. There's a lot to absorb from the executives who come here; they bring experience to the classroom that hasn't necessarily yet been codified in books or papers.

I also enjoy seeing how the interaction among participants develops over time. When they first get here, many managers think that they are the only ones facing a particular managerial obstacle. But as the week progresses, they realize that's actually not the case. They find that other people are dealing with the same problem or that they've faced that issue in the past, and this is often an eye-opening experience for them.

Ultimately, what we teach here impacts people and companies, which speaks to the School's philosophy of educating leaders who make a difference in the world. That’s very motivating.