Board rooms are not unified on strategy. The most painful point of strategy making in large organisations is, as people rivet their views die hard to their intellectual inclinations to views as diverse as simple one-cell amoeba to complex billion-cell human brain about what is strategy, why it is critical, how it helps winning in the market place and so on – leaders often think strategy in contradictory terms. Each one’s view of strategy becomes practically roadblock, antithesis and a wall to the other’s view. People may change their religion, not their view about what is strategic and hence what is important for the organization. Even negotiating thin shared view, among the leadership team of what has been thought of as strategy, hoping something right is thought of in the first place, itself is a difficult challenge. No doubt strategy as a subject is researched extensively. Academic scholars such as Porter, Prahlad, Mintzberg Kaplan and others from eminent universities, business leaders of high repute, Jack welch, Louise Gestener, Andy Grove and so on - have demonstrated its importance for organizations by theory and practice, however to say that strategy is a method repeatably scientific is a huge ask. People used to social sciences- psychology, politics are used to uncertainty about their theoretical predictions which are generally obvious to commonsense. But apprehensions that persist despite their scientific claims wrapped with academic jargons, degree to which such complexity is stretched in case of strategy - is way too much for even a nuclear and God particle theorists. Only one needs to traverse through briefly, the confounding maze of ideas held together by frail logic to realize the slippery ground the business strategy making stands on.
This, confusing as it sounds, seems to be more a rule than exception whenever we make any attempt on theoretical construct at such higher levels. As we look around, we soon realize that this is not the problem of business strategy making alone. This seems to be the bane of all issues of social space that matters no matter how many Nobel prizes are given and won, economic models included. Take Marxism for instance. Power of theory of Marx, more popular as marxism, has swept through the world and has captured the intellect, imagination and conscience of human beings, only the way great religions - judaism, christianity, and Islam have done in human history. Marx however, who talked so much about money for most part lived moneyless in a dingy impoverished suburbs of London, would have been horrified by even a faintest suggestion that his work is anything like religion. One may debate whether Marx was right or wrong and whether his predictions were right. But to say Marxism is not a theory significant enough to influence people would be an intellectual suicide.
Suppose we begin a simple question. How useful and scientific is Marxist theory anyway? Can Marxism mean the same thing two people?
“Scepter is haunting Europe - scepter of communism” Said Marx. As you know, Marx theory deftly explains all human past as history of class struggles. Capitalist class is the most revolutionary class ever existed on earth so far, Karl Marx says. “The rising bourgeoisie has completely revolutionized the production and have dominated the world market. Bourgeoisie has achieved that far surpass wonders of Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts and gothic cathedrals”.
To be continued ..
This, confusing as it sounds, seems to be more a rule than exception whenever we make any attempt on theoretical construct at such higher levels. As we look around, we soon realize that this is not the problem of business strategy making alone. This seems to be the bane of all issues of social space that matters no matter how many Nobel prizes are given and won, economic models included. Take Marxism for instance. Power of theory of Marx, more popular as marxism, has swept through the world and has captured the intellect, imagination and conscience of human beings, only the way great religions - judaism, christianity, and Islam have done in human history. Marx however, who talked so much about money for most part lived moneyless in a dingy impoverished suburbs of London, would have been horrified by even a faintest suggestion that his work is anything like religion. One may debate whether Marx was right or wrong and whether his predictions were right. But to say Marxism is not a theory significant enough to influence people would be an intellectual suicide.
Suppose we begin a simple question. How useful and scientific is Marxist theory anyway? Can Marxism mean the same thing two people?
“Scepter is haunting Europe - scepter of communism” Said Marx. As you know, Marx theory deftly explains all human past as history of class struggles. Capitalist class is the most revolutionary class ever existed on earth so far, Karl Marx says. “The rising bourgeoisie has completely revolutionized the production and have dominated the world market. Bourgeoisie has achieved that far surpass wonders of Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts and gothic cathedrals”.
To be continued ..
