Global success for New Zealand book on winning strategies
A new book on creating and communicating effective strategies, co-authored by Victoria Business School researcher and lecturer Professor Stephen Cummings, is capturing widespread attention around the globe.
A new book on creating and communicating effective strategies, co-authored by Victoria Business School researcher and lecturer Professor Stephen Cummings, is capturing widespread attention around the globe.
Strategy Builder: How to create and communicate more effective strategies promotes a visual approach to building strategies, and is based on research by the Strategic Management professor, and fellow author Professor Duncan Angwin from the University of Lancaster, and their combined teaching experience across 10 countries.
Professor Cummings is thrilled by the book's offshore success, especially as it represents a largely local team effort.
"Although we have a United Kingdom publisher, the main art collaborators and app developers are New Zealand companies. So it’s really exciting to think this book is being translated into Farsi and being used by management consultants in places like Iran," he says.
Strategy Builder has also received positive reviews in the United Kingdom and prompted an invitation to speak at a conference in the United States for the worldwide organisation, the Strategic Management Society.
Professor Cummings says the book's success is partly due to the development of complementary app StrategyBlocks Builder, which "helps people see the impact of their strategic thinking".
"It allows people to test basic strategic concepts in a very interactive and graphic way. They can quickly see how choices in one aspect of a strategy links to others, and can help them articulate clearer strategic objectives.
"This is a book Duncan and I have wanted to produce for a long time. It's early days yet, but it’s great to have so much initial interest in what is a very unique book," he says.