Being Strategic

March 2, 2009
In this accessible but overly ambitious debut, top consultant Andersen walks readers through a step-by-step guide to strategic thinking and action. She describes the process of formulating and executing strategy through the historical example of the 800-year-old castle at Criccieth, a massive construction project envisioned and overseen by Welsh nobleman Llewellyn Fawr. Through an imaginary narrative of Llewellyn's conversations with his wife and peers, Andersen culls the process of strategic thinking: clearly defining the challenge and considering the potential obstacles before taking action. While the castle analogy is appealing and helpful, midway through the book Andersen introduces case studies of several imagined companies to illustrate additional points, leaving the reader to wonder what happened to Llewellyn and his castle. Andersen's strong voice and experience in strategy coaching comes through, but she confuses her business reader with personal growth messages. In the end, her valuable lessons are watered down as she attempts too much by extending her deliberate thinking process beyond the business world to “Strategy as a Way of Life.”