First River HomeFirst River Home
Home | Who we are | What we do | Strategy | Steel | Papers

Some strategy reading

Here are some books and articles that we've found helpful in thinking about competitive business strategy.

There are probably more books written about strategy than any other management subject. Be careful you don't read too much. Read just enough to stimulate your own thinking. And be particularly suspicious of models that offer a 'one best way' solution. The readings listed here are practical and useful, even when offering conceptual or theoretical insights. But as Kurt Lewin once said:

There's nothing so practical as a good theory.

Let us know which you find most useful. And if you have any suggestions, let us know and we'll add them.

Competitive Strategy, Michael Porter, The Free Press, 1980
The Mind of the Strategist, Kenichi Ohmae, McGraw Hill, 1982
The Breakthrough Strategy, Robert Schaffer, Harper Business, 1988
The Origin of Strategy, Bruce Henderson, Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec 1989
Contemporary Strategy Analysis: R.M.Grant, Blackwell Business
What is Strategy? Michael Porter, Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec. 1996
Integrated Strategic Change, Worley Hitchin & Ross, Addison Wesley, 1996

And finally, although it's not explicitly about strategy, this is the single most stimulating and entertaining book about organizations:

The Social Psychology of Organizing, Karl Weick, McGraw-Hill, 1979.

You'll even forgive him the title after you've read it.

©2000 First River Consulting


First River Home | Who we are | What we do | Strategy | Steel | Papers
webmaster@first-river.com