Systems Thinking Strategy

Dr. Brown's thesis not only makes sense, but his identification of the "sense-making" processes that yield strategic decisions is profound, and it can be used both internally as a planning approach, and as a tool for competitive analysis. And he has the research to back up his insights. STS is truly an operating system for 21st century business. Jonathan Salem Baskin, author, Tell The Truth: Honesty is Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool, & Branding Only Works on Cattle Dr. Brown has accomplished a rare feat with his book-he has taken the overused and often misunderstood notion of organizational strategy and provided a clear and practical definition coupled with a pragmatic model grounded in systems thinking that offers a potential roadmap for firms to better leverage their organic capabilities and gain a competitive advantage in the business landscape. The book reads well and can be readily utilized by planners and leaders in today's workplace. Tim Goodly, PhD Senior Vice President Human Resources Fortune 100 Company Dr. Brown provides a very insightful analysis of what it takes to formulate a successful organizational strategy that ensures sustainable competitive advantage. The cornerstone of his reasoning is that much like other systems, strategy should take into consideration competitive, capabilities, and customer focused approaches toward strategy making and that can be only be fully realized through organizational sense-making processes. The "Systems Thinking Strategy" has many lessons to offer on strategy formulation for contemporary organizations. I recommend this as a "must read book" for all interested in organizational strategy formulation and practice. Ramkrishnan (Ram) V. Tenkasi Fulbright Senior Research Scholar Professor of Organization Change PhD Program in Organization Development and Change Benedictine University