Closing Remarks for the Chapter

It is not always simple to split the topic of business from strategy. You cannot have a business without a strategy. We might see from the wide span of foci in the books reviewed as well as in the executive interviews that there typically are many viable ways forward. We have chosen to split the two in order to provide a logical foundation for our discussion— namely, by starting with a look at the product or service offered by the organizations selected herein, we can then afterwards reflect on the firm’s strategic options. Strategy means choice (Lorange, 2005). And strategy is much more thinking and execution than planning (Lorange, 2009). So, as we move from a look at business to a discussion of strategy, let us acknowledge the necessity for clarity, structure, and foundations when establishing a business. An explicit, straightforward, and relatively simple sense of which strategy and direction to be taken seems critical. That seems to be a consistent “message” coming out of the book reviews and interviews alike.