John Colley
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Strategy briefing – Business Strategy: What is it really?
October 16, 2015
Almost everyone seems to have a strategy. Asking business directors about their strategy may well stimulate a long list such as their procurement strategy or marketing strategy, investor strategy or workforce strategy. Indeed, almost any potential plan or course of action rapidly becomes a strategy. Perhaps the word conjures up impressions of high level thinking, …
Strategy briefing – Strategic Alliances: A Panacea?
August 25, 2015
Recently there has been substantial growth in the number of strategic alliances. They are seen by management as a way of sharing risk and acquiring resources and capabilities. We will focus on equity based alliances in this article; more commonly referred to as Joint Ventures (JV’s) The EE example In 2010 Deutsche Telecom and France’s …
Strategy briefing – Advisors: Value Adding or Expensive Self Interest?
June 10, 2015
When Fred Goodwin spent £71bn of Royal Bank of Scotland’s money on ABN-AMRO in 2007 this was quite possibly the worst acquisition ever made. Although many would argue that the competition is particularly high in this respect! The acquisition effectively bust the bank, requiring the British Government to rescue it. Before doing the deal, Fred …
Strategy briefing – Transient or Turbulent: Does it Really Matter?
May 27, 2015
The life span and volatility of a particular industry will provide some clues as to the strategic approach which may be appropriate for competing businesses. This article considers transient and turbulent industries and the extent and circumstances of financially engineered risk which a business should carry. I also relate my own recent strategic experience of …
