Strategy without Design
The Silent Efficacy of Indirect Action

A unique analysis of strategy in organizations that shows how successful strategies may result without planning or design.

Robert C. H. Chia (Author), Robin Holt (Author)

9780521189859, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 3 March 2011

262 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.39 kg

'[Chia and Holt's] case in Strategy without Design is at once counterintuitive and thoroughly compelling, and draws upon examples and analysis from business, economics, politics, philosophy and military history. … The strength of this publication lies in the breadth of its analysis and the erudition it clearly contains, a strength which is expressed in a way which nonetheless loses none of its accessibility or readability.' Journal of General Management

Strategy exhibits a pervasive commitment to the belief that the best approach to adopt in dealing with affairs of the world is to confront, overcome and subjugate things to conform to our will, control and eventual mastery. Performance is about sustaining distinctiveness. This direct and deliberate approach draws inspiration from ancient Greek roots and has become orthodoxy. Yet there are downsides. This book shows why. Using examples from the world of business, economics, military strategy, politics and philosophy, it argues that success may inadvertently emerge from the everyday coping actions of a multitude of individuals, none of whom intended to contribute to any preconceived design. A consequence of this claim is that a paradox exists in strategic interventions, one that no strategist can afford to ignore. The more single-mindedly a strategic goal is sought, the more likely such calculated instrumental action eventually works to undermine its own initial success.

Preface
Introduction
1. Spontaneous order: the roots of strategy emergence
2. Economic agency and steps to ecological awareness
3. Reconceptualizing agency, self-interest and purposeful action
4. The 'practice turn' in strategy research
5. Building and dwelling: two ways of investigating strategy practice
6. Strategy as immersed 'wayfinding'
7. The silent efficacy of indirect action
Epilogue: negative capability
Index.

Subject Areas: Business & management [KJ]