Lancefield on the Line

Costas Markides: Mastering clarity in strategy

January 26, 2022 David Lancefield Season 2 Episode 3
Lancefield on the Line
Costas Markides: Mastering clarity in strategy
Show Notes Chapter Markers

Summary:

The world of business is packed full of terminology, jargon, buzzwords. I’ve probably used too much of it myself. But what do we mean by innovation, customer centricity, agility? Too often we’re not clear so we have parallel conversations, or simply people disengage leaving the important decisions to a clique or the dominant few. 

My guest in this podcast, Prof. Costas Markides of the LBS, is a stickler for clarity – he thinks that a lack of clarity is one of the biggest problems we have in management. We talk about the critical ‘who, what, how’ questions of strategy, what it takes to win over peoples’ hearts and minds when you’re looking to effect organisational change – he also talks how distributed, autonomous organisations really work. And, importantly, how leaders can turn their intent, their thoughts and words, into action. He concludes by sharing how we measures his own success, and impact, in his research and teaching. 

More on Costas:

Professor Costas Markides is recognised as one of the world’s foremost experts on strategy and innovation. An internationally acclaimed teacher and conference speaker, Professor Markides has researched the topics of strategic innovation, business model innovation, diversification and international acquisitions.

  • His book "Organizing for the New Normal: Prepare Your Company for the Journey of Continuous Disruption".
  • Costas' profile.

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Why should anyone read his new book ‘Organising for the New Normal’
The biggest mistakes leaders make in disruptive contexts
What stops leaders selling change in a positive way rather than resorting to fear
The critical role of the butterfly principle in transformational change
The organisation that best illustrates the power of reinvention
Terms in the management lexicon that are most misused
Which concept he is most of proud of in this research
What business schools should do differently to increase their impact
The hardest question he’s faced in the classroom
How he makes a big impact in the classroom
The biggest changes he’s seen in business and academia in the last 30 years