INSEAD TALK

Strategy in Challenging and Changing Times Wednesday, March 25th 2009 Prince Salman Hall, Prince Sultan University Speaker Peter B. Zemsky Chaired Professor of Strategy and Innovation Chair R&D committee, INSEAD Abstract We are living in extraordinary times. Even before the current financial crisis, companies faced an unusually dynamic environment: the dramatic rise of China and then India, the incredible run-up in energy and other commodity prices, an extended period of cheap capital fuelling a boom in private equity and real estate. And now we face a deep financial crisis which is causing a sudden and dramatic reversal of many of the earlier trends. In this seminar, we will confront the implications of these challenging and changing times for how companies should approach strategy. We will engage in a classic but timely debate as to whether traditional approaches to strategy based on analysis and planning are still useful. Or should corporate leaders simply focus on building highly capable and flexible organizations? To gain a deeper perspective we will delve into the dynamic forces that shape the evolution of industries over time. To what extent should companies passively react to these changes and to what should companies seek to proactively shape industry evolution? The seminar culminates with an exploration of strategic agility. How can companies quickly sense and respond to shifts in their environment? How can one assure that consensus is quickly reached at the top and that resources are redeployed in a timely way? This is a currently open and active area of research in strategy; participants will be encouraged to contribute their own experiences and ideas to those of the professor.

Return back to PSRTC Website