Kenichi Ohmae - Thinking of a strategist. The art of business in Japanese. Kenichi Ohmae's book "Strategist's Mind: The Art of Business in Japanese" Strategist's Mind
Kenichi Ohmae is called "Mr. Strategy". He was awarded the title of "Japan's Only Management Guru" by the Financial Times and The magazine The Economist named him one of the top five experts in business management.
From the publisher: Over the course of two decades, a book written by a world-famous business strategist
Kenichi Ohmae's howl has become a classic. Ohmae clearly and accurately explains the reasons for the successful strategies of some companies, revealing their business thinking processes and planning methods. The book shows how focusing on the core elements of a strategic plan—the corporation, customers, and competitors—helps
companies to achieve victory. Ohmae's classic work contains many clear examples of strategic thinking and continues to inspire managers at all levels to reach new heights of bold and creative strategic thought.
From the author: Every year in April, the Japanese edition of this book experiences another wave of sales. It took me a while to understand why this was happening. In 1975, when The Strategist's Mind was first published in Japan, I was 32 years old. Today, these people occupy the highest positions in their companies and offer my book to the university graduates who usually come to them in April.
In fact, they could give young employees any of the three dozen books I've written that have since come out in Japan, but The Strategist's Mind is definitely a favorite. Perhaps one reason for this is that when the book was first published, Japan - at least corporate Japan - was not doing very well.
We were simultaneously experiencing an oil crisis and a crisis of self-confidence. We were perceived as a country of “copycats,” a nation incapable of inventing anything truly new, which could only “do it a little better or cheaper.” My book refuted this point of view. It taught us how to be creative in creating new strategies and developing new products and services. It spoke of “degrees of freedom” rather than modes of imitation.
Young Japanese managers took my ideas as a guide to action. Many of my proposals about new directions for the development of cameras, consumer electronics, cars, and office equipment were successfully implemented. But what is much more important is that the ability to create truly new strategies and products is firmly rooted in corporate culture Japanese companies. That's why every April, my old friends and readers who run these companies today use my book, The Strategist's Mind, to introduce newcomers to the basics of creative strategic thinking. In the United States, the book "The Strategist's Mind" was published in 1982. In the American edition, the emphasis was slightly different, because in the United States there was a different problem: America has always been a country of pioneers and inventors, not imitators. But at the same time, this country was in a tight grip
obsession with strategic planning, especially among management personnel. In boardrooms and the offices of corporate executives, all sorts of clever techniques flourished - matrices, logic diagrams, circles and arrows, graphs. The attention of American managers was almost entirely focused on how to get ahead of the competition. And they paid too little attention to consumers and their own technological and organizational advantages.
Since 1982 cult strategic planning in the US began to weaken, and companies returned strategy to where it belonged - in the hands of operational managers. And, of course, today no manager in the United States will admit that he is focused on anything other than his clients.
Yet something is missing in the thinking of many American managers in terms of developing new products and strategies. How else can we explain the current abuse of brand extensions and such a small number of fundamentally new products and services? Perhaps more copies of this book should be sold in the US in September.
Those of you who have read my other books, Triad Power, Beyond National Borders, The Borderless World, know that I I am against governments and bureaucrats, but believe in people and companies. I believe that the Berlin Wall was destroyed by new wonderful goods coming across the border, and
formation about them, not diplomacy and political doctrine. Strategic thinking is an extremely powerful weapon, a laser beam that, if given freedom, will erase all boundaries and form a single economic space where people can create new things, compete freely and consume the best that the world produces.
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Mister Strategy
Kenichi Ohmae is known throughout the world as "Mr. Strategy". He is also called the modern incarnation of Adam Smith. And there is a reason for this - Ohmae made a real discovery: he developed the recipe for success of a true strategist, which allowed many managers to make a breakthrough and make their companies great.
Successful business strategies are the result of a special style of thinking, the skills of which can be developed. It was this discovery that brought Kenichi Ohmae worldwide fame: The Economist magazine included him among the top five leading experts in the field of business management, and the Financial Times awarded him the title “Japan's only management guru.”
Mr. Ohmae views strategy not as the result of a standard planning process, but as a product of creativity. The recipe for success of a true strategist is a combination of the analytical method and an inquisitive mind. Moreover, the second component is the most important. But is it possible to learn creativity? Kenichi Ohmae believes that everything is in our hands, because “our abilities of imagination, the ability to calculate hypothetical situations in our heads are incredible. Act as if your client is your chosen one. Imagine how you want to please him, amaze him. Then your mind will start working as it should.” Ohmae advises thinking about each new problem as if it were a new problem that no one had ever encountered before. This will help you act unconventionally, take steps that you have not taken before. Forget everything you read in textbooks. Look for the answers yourself. Ask questions about each topic. Kenichi Ohmae is confident that “if you solve problems over and over again with the help of your own original discoveries, you will become a true creator, a true strategist.”
Strategic thinking cannot be taught, but it can be learned. In his book “The Strategist's Mind,” Kenichi Ohmae offers numerous ways, methods, options for strategies, and thinking moves that a leader can use to develop a thinking style that generates excellent strategic ideas. The Financial Times included this book in its list of 50 best books about business since The Art of Strategy, written by the great Sun Tzu 2500 years ago.
Curriculum Vitae
Kenichi Ohmae was born on the island of Kyushu in 1943. Educated at Waseda University and Tokyo Institute of Technology. He holds a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ohmae was a senior partner at McKinsey & Company for 23 years. Author of more than one hundred books. Today, Kenichi Ohmae lectures all over the world, holds several prestigious positions at universities, and heads his own business school, Business Breakthrough. Lives in Yokohama with his wife and two children. At 64, Omae leads an active lifestyle: he drives a scooter, enjoys golf, sailing and diving. In addition, Kenichi is a talented clarinetist.
Analytical creativity
True strategic thinking differs sharply from the traditional mechanical approach based on systems thinking. But it also differs from a purely intuitive approach, when conclusions are drawn without any rational analysis. If you rely only on logic and think linearly, your field of vision narrows. Your mind should be racing - racing allows you to get a bigger picture. But what we see is sometimes difficult to digest. This means you need to return to reality and think about how you will bring your ideas to life. But if you get too deep into this process, your mind will slow down. This means another leap is needed. Kenichi Ohmae compares the thought process to playing an accordion: you alternately inflate the bellows and then contract them, creating a balance between analytical creativity and creative analysis.
A win-win method for finding a solution
People who have the talent to intuitively find the essence of a problem are very rare. Luckily for everyone else, this can be done by following certain methods.
Method 1
We immediately formulate the question in such a way as to facilitate the search for a solution. If the right questions are asked in solution-oriented formulations, the final answer is likely to be the same, even if the search for it begins with different questions and arrives at it through different paths. For example, take the following situation: overtime work has become a chronic phenomenon in the company. The question “What needs to be done to reduce overtime work? can only be asked if the essence of the problem is defined and understood. It is more effective to formulate the question differently so that it is more solution-oriented: “Is there enough work force to do everything necessary work? If not, then the solution is to increase staff. If yes, then the problem is most likely due to insufficient qualifications of employees. This is not the only way to frame a solution-oriented question. We can ask this: “Are the workers' abilities commensurate with the nature of the work they do?” If not, then the solution is to train existing workers or hire more qualified ones. If so, then the root of the problem is not the character, but the volume of work. So, the solution is to hire additional staff.
Method 2
We use a “decision tree” - a method of narrowing the problem. The overall problem is broken down into two or more sub-issues that complement each other and cover the entire field of possible solutions. This process is then repeated for sub-issues, and so on, until a level is reached where the sub-issues can be resolved without being divided into components. Thus, even a problem that initially seemed too complex and large is gradually broken down into a series of small and specific problems. The secret here is that each endpoint must contain a problem that can be solved.
Tools for developing successful strategies
The meaning of a business strategy (its difference from other types of business planning) is to create a real competitive advantage. If there are no competitors, then there is no need for strategy. Japanese business owes its outstanding success to 4 methods, thanks to which a company can gain a significant advantage over competitors at acceptable costs. The main thing in these methods is not to do on the same battlefield what competitors are doing, but to gain an advantage through actions that are difficult for competitors to repeat or neutralize.
Method 1 – Focusing on Key Success Factors (KSFs).
To Marvin Bauer, my role model, with admiration.
To Ginny, Sookie and Hiroki, to my family, with love.
Kenichi Ohmae
Thinking like a strategist
The art of business in Japanese
BBK 65.291.21; 62.291.213 0 57
Published with the assistance of Stins Coman
Translator I. Evstigneeva Scientific editor G. N. Konstantinov Editor V. Grigorieva
O 57 Thinking of a strategist: The art of business in Japanese / Kenichi Ohmae; Per. from English - M.: Alpina Business Books, 2007. - 215 p.
ISBN 978-5-9614-0565-1
Over two decades, the book, written by world-renowned business strategist Kenichi Ohmae, has become a classic.
Ohmae explains with extreme clarity and precision the reasons behind some companies' successful strategies, their business thinking processes and planning methods. The book shows how focusing on the core elements of a strategic plan - the corporation, customers and competitors - helps a company achieve victory.
Ohmae's classic work contains many clear examples of strategic thinking and continues to inspire managers at all levels to reach new heights of bold and creative strategic thought.
BBK 65.291.21; 62.291.213
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN 978-5-9614-0565-1 (Russian) ISBN 0-07-047904-6 (English)
McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1982.
All rights reserved.
Publication in Russian, translation, design.
Alpina Business Books LLC, 2007
To the readers
I enjoyed reading this book, which, like Mr. Ohmae’s previous bestsellers, in my opinion, will be a great success in the business literature market. The author perfectly feels the fabric and logic of what he is talking about, and therefore difficult to understand things in his presentation become simple and understandable.
Can we see in the book new, previously unspoken recommendations and provisions? Maybe the author gives unique business examples? Or is Japanese management (experience, traditions, etc.) being dissected in a new way, revealing previously unnoticed features?
A sophisticated reader will not find any significant novelty in what he reads. What is the amazing attractiveness of the approaches, ideologies and methods proposed by the author? Apparently, in that it offers a new look at the WAY to think, ask questions, make decisions.
After reading this book, I began to ask the question “Why?” more often, challenging generally accepted truths and thus eliminating the bottlenecks that block the path to fundamental improvements. Only with this approach are serious breakthroughs in achieving business goals possible.
What is strategic thinking? We use this concept so often that we seem to understand it well. It is really clear and simple, but at the same time extremely difficult.
Let's try to answer ourselves honestly: how often do we achieve the goals that we set for ourselves (the team) as managers? Isn’t this where the homespun truth lies?
We think we know the answer to the question “What is strategy?” Here is how experienced and very advanced middle and top managers answer it:
Long-term planning;
Comprehensive planning;
Planning of critical projects;
Prospects for the company's development;
The order of resource distribution.
As we see, not all managers have the correct idea of strategy.
Moreover, to a greater extent, strategy interests us not as a concept or even as a technology; it interests us as a practical skill, as the ability to think and act in a special way.
Moreover, we are not just interested in strategy (in the above context), but in strategy in a constantly changing situation. By answering the question “What is strategy?”, it will be easier for us to understand what strategic thinking is.
We found out that this is not planning (at least not just planning). However, it is necessary to understand the role that planning plays in strategy formation. E. Grove said it well: “You have to plan like a fire department does: you can’t predict where the next fire will be. Therefore, they form an energetic and effective fire brigade that can respond to both routine and emergency situations.”
The strategist's weapons are strategic thinking, consistency and perseverance. Armed with these qualities and supported by assistants who provide the necessary knowledge and information, the strategist is equipped to create a clear, beautiful strategy that will eliminate the confusion and bottlenecks that have led the company to difficulties. There is no need for ingenious “jumps and strikes” here. The strategist's job is to clarify goals, identify problems, find ideas and solutions that will change the company's market situation, its resource allocation system, or any other area (where existing practices have become ossified and ineffective), and thus give the company an impetus to move in the right direction. .
One method that a strategist uses is very simple - to question common assumptions by asking “Why?” This question needs to be asked of those who are responsible for the existing way of doing things, and asked so long and often until they become disgusted with hearing it. This is the only way to get to the bottlenecks blocking the path to fundamental improvements, and by eliminating them, make possible major breakthroughs in achieving business goals.
When a company reaches such a stage, the search for strategic measures becomes imperative.
Strategic thinking, the author rightly believes, is the ability to think creatively and actively, to generate dynamic ideas and goals. In a word, this is talent. However, there are ways in which the "strategist mindset" can be replicated by people who may lack natural talent in this area. In other words, there is no “secret formula” or “war secret” that can be used to formulate effective goals and build successful strategies.
The lack of a certain “specific talent” is not an insurmountable obstacle, but there are a number of approaches and methods, the use of which allows one to generate excellent strategic ideas. The author says: “I have tried to provide you with tips and tricks that will help you develop the ability and habit of thinking strategically.” One of the most important pieces of advice deserves special attention: to form groups of young “samurai” within the corporation, who should become real corporate strategists - giving free rein to their imagination and entrepreneurial talent, they should generate daring innovative strategic ideas and, at the same time performing the functions of full-time analysts, test, systematize and prioritize ideas and help line managers implement approved strategies.
“Genuine strategic thinking stands in stark contrast to the traditional mechanical systems approach based on linear thinking. But it also contrasts with a purely intuitive approach, when conclusions are drawn without any rational analysis,” says the author, illustrating step by step, example by example, the methodology of systems analysis.
The strategic thinker first seeks to clearly understand the individual nature of each element of the situation and then uses the full potential of the human mind to reintegrate these elements in the most beneficial manner.
When faced with problems, a strategic thinker dissects them into their component parts. Analysis is the critical starting point of strategic thinking. Then, having learned the meaning of each element, he reassembles them in such a way as to maximize his advantage.
In business, as on the battlefield, the goal of strategy is to create conditions most favorable to one's side, choosing the right moments to attack or retreat and always accurately assessing the limits of compromise.
Corporate strategy, which aims at the company's market position, involves an attempt to in an efficient way strengthen the company's position compared to competitors.
But I believe that the term “strategy” must denote actions aimed directly at strengthening the company’s position. We must distinguish between these actions and actions aimed at achieving operational improvements (increasing profitability, simplifying organizational structure, implementation of more effective methods management or better staff training).
