Strategy is one of those words that, to a right brain creative like me, every now and then sends ‘this does not compute’ messages through the brain. Not dissimilar to a strategist hearing words such as ‘creativity’, I guess.
With the definition of science being:
‘a systematically organised body of knowledge on a particular subject’,
and Michael Porter’s definition of strategy in the Harvard Business Review,
‘the creation of a unique position involving a distinct set of activities’
then the term ‘the science of strategy’ would make sense.
But what of the strategist?
Probably best be summed up by Cynthia Montgomery in her book of the same name, by these words,
‘It takes time to develop the skills and sensibilities of a strategist. Part of it is ‘science’ – straight-up analytical ability, but a lot of it is judgment, a lot of it is ‘feel’.
Most people think that strategy is a fixed, done and dusted thing that we
