Dear Bob,
A major critique of McKinsey's 7S framework is to be found in
Richard D'Aveni's book, HYPERCOMPETITION. (He's got a shorter, more
concise version of the book intended for students, HYPERCOMPETITIVE
REALITIES, as well). The gist of his critique is that the competitive
environment is often moving so fast that the stability assumptions built
into McKinsey's approach are dysfunctional, and that organizations need
more speed, agility and capacity for coping with uncertainty to prosper.
D'Aveni's "New 7S Framework" identifies Stakeholder Satisfaction,
Strategic Soothsaying (good sense of where the world is going), Speed,
capability to Surprise rivals, ability to Shift the Rules of competition,
capable Signaling, and Simultaneous and Sequential Strategic Thrusts that
create momentum and follow-on as the newer, more contemporary approaches
that allow a competitor to contend with today's more competitive
environments - or to render the environment more competitive, so as to
catch the opposition flat-footed.
D'Aveni's fundamental model is that strategic competition is war,
and like it may include strategic alliances, but it's mostly all against
all. Certainly there is little opportunity for quiescence! Intel's Andy
Grove has advised a comparable "paranoia," which doesn't seem too bad an
outlook for a new organization just starting out.
Hope D'Aveni's books prove helpful.
Sam
HYPERCOMPETITION and HYPERCOMPETITIVE REALITIES, Richard D'Aveni (Free
Press)
Mariann Jelinek, Ph.D.
Richard C. Kraemer Professor of
Business Administration
Graduate School of Business | The only real, enduring strategic advantage
College of William and Mary |comes from changing the rules of the game.
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23185-8795
Tel. (757) 221-2882 FAX: (757) 229-6135
--Mariann Jelinek <mxjeli@facstaff.wm.edu>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>