CHARTING THE CORPORATE MIND

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Summary: Navigation: The simple and amazing strategy
Review: "Navigation" could be a one-word summary and one phrasal summary for this book could be "between the rock and the whirlpool". Both, the word and the phrase are used in the context of successful business management. Corporate dilemma, the chief concern of this book, earlier seemed like a crossroad in the operations of the company where the company could take advantage of either one of the two alternatives. Synergy between alternatives seemed like a contradiction. It was like trying to find a synergy between economies of scale and flexible manufacturing. The presence of one ruled out the presence of the other. So Henry ford chose the mass production against customized production. Companies chose either cooperation or competition among product groups. This book attempts to and succeeds in synergizing these two so-called horns of a corporate dilemma. According to the author, in the current competitive environment, the resolution of dilemmas is not a choice but a requirement failing which the company gets enveloped in the vicious cycle of extremes of a particular way of functioning (excessive reliance on economies of scale leading to complete ignorance of changes in customer's taste and requirements). Managers in most of the companies stop short of resolving these dilemmas even after realizing their presence on account of the painful nature of its resolution. Thus the inability to take a decision becomes a decision for the worse of the organization. The book represents a paradigm shift in the way of strategy building. It teaches the superiority of reconciliation (integration of differences) over the resolution (compromise) of disputes.
The book beautifully deals with the concepts as well as the practical applicability of the dilemma theory. Many times the level of abstraction involved in the theory dissuades further reading but the application part pulls the interest back Not a light read it would require effort on the part of reader to understand the concepts before he gets into the flow. Though the book has been written with companies in mind the theory seems as much applicable in an individual's life where one encounters hostility in the outer environment which leads to a deadlock. That unraveling is possible would be a beacon of light to many people caught in a blind alley's of life. With competition rooting away the superficial rules of success made by the mankind it's time again to look around at the nature and learn the basic and simple rules of living in harmony. That harmony is the basis of existence (of businesses & individuals) is just not a coincidence. It's providence. It's the future.