Strategy and Change: Finding Opportunity in Disruption Through Insight, Choice, and Risk

by Aaron K. Olson

Hone your ability to make strategic leadership decisions in a volatile and complex world In the revised and updated edition of Leading with Strategic Thinking , a team of leadership and strategy experts deliver an incisive and engaging approach leaders can use to make better decisions and drive strategic change. Rooted in academic research and tested with over three thousand leaders around the world, this practical book reveals how the most effective leaders and organizations gain insight, make good choices, and manage risk. Building on strategies introduced in their first book, Leading with Strategic Thinking , this new work offers the latest guidance on navigating the extreme volatility inherent in today’s commercial markets, as well as new actions, strategies, and tools rooted in a four-part framework that helps match the right leadership approach to a given situation. You’ll also A can’t-miss resource for managers, executives, and other business leaders, the revised and updated edition of Leading with Strategic Thinking will also earn a place in the libraries of people just beginning a new career and consultants who regularly work with organizations and teams of all kinds.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Professional Development, Self Help, Management

240 pages, Hardcover

First published April 13, 2015

About the author

Aaron Olson is an author, consultant and executive with over twenty years experience in the fields of leadership, strategy and human capital.

Aaron is currently Chief Talent Officer at Aon plc where he leads efforts to maximize the impact of its 66,000 colleagues around the world. Aaron also serves as an instructor at Northwestern University where he teaches graduate courses in organizational strategy and leadership.

Reviews

[Haley McMurphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

School lol

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Olson and Simerson's four types of strategic leadership - visionary, directive, incubating, and collaborative - are at once intuitive and reaching. These types of leadership relate to and are meant to describe the ways the individual leader thinks strategically.

Linking strategic THINKING with strategic LEADING was a smart way to proceed with this book. It gives the reader insight into a side of strategic leading not often presented. In fact, I have found many books that struggle to differentiate strategic leading from any other type of leading. Olson and Simerson's book excels in that area. I would have liked to have read about how the authors situate their types of strategic leadership within the contexts of other popular theories/styles of leadership (e.g., transformational, authentic, charismatic, LMX, etc.). I also would have appreciated a connection between strategic thinking, leading, and strategy formulation.

Overall, this was a beneficial read, particularly for students of leadership or those interested in better understanding the strategy process.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me this was somewhere between a 2 and 3 star book. It read very much like a text book which is not what I gravitate to. I did not personally find the case studies to be overly helpful. Felt that about 3/4 of the book was describing the leadership styles, and the remainder on how you could grow your leadership abilities. Overall just a little dry for me. All that said, I think this would be of great use in MBA/business classes.

[Bobby Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was great finding a book on strategic thinking and leadership - where they meet and what you miss by thinking of them as separate. Having read about the two separately, this mashup made a few things click. For that reason alone I would recommend.

Note: I think you’d be a bit too surface level if you didn’t precede or follow-up this reading with a deeper dive into the leadership theories presented within and into readings on strategic thinking / processes.

[Matthew Bynum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers the four leadership styles very well, with a lot of stories. A little academic and dry in the writing, but if you can get through that there are a lot of valuable nuggets contained within.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read.

Gave me some new ideas about how I might use different leadership approaches in different situations. Nice use of case studies.

[Chelsea Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required reading for school