Editor's letter

Citation

Randall, R.M. (2004), "Editor's letter", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 32 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/sl.2004.26132aaa.001

Editor's letter

Some highlights of this issue:

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  Strategy & Leadership's new column – "Disruptive scenarios", by Doug Randall, a Global Business Network futurist – spotlights an area of industry uncertainty, explores its potential outcomes, and identifies its implications. His first column imagines the future of intellectual property.

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  "Making M&A pay: lessons from the world's most successful acquirers" by Marakon consultants Ron Langford and Collin Brown III provides practical guidance for resolving a perplexing paradox – mergers and acquisitions play a key role in modernizing industries and increasing company value, yet most deals destroy value for the acquirer's shareholders.

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  "Strategy for the critical first 90 days of leadership" by Harvard professor Michael Watkins explains how your plan for your first three months in a new job will largely determine whether you succeed or fail in the long term. He offers a blueprint for addressing the challenges of personal transition and organizational transformation that confront new leaders at every level.

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  "The agenda for redefining corporate purpose: five key executive actions" by management authority and author Ian Wilson, merely proposes that corporations rethink their true role and purpose in society. On this topic, see also Brian Leavy's book review of A Company of Citizens and former Medtronic CEO Bill George's commentary, "The case for being a stakeholder-driven company".

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  One of the controversial articles will likely be "Prospecting for evidence: why scholarly research can be an information goldmine for managers" by Stanford professor Robert I. Sutton, an authority on innovation.

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  Of special interest, note the two-part section: Managing a growth culture. "How CEOs can initiate and monitor a successful growth-project culture" by Deloitte consultant Cathy Benko and Harvard professor Warren McFarlan reveals innovative techniques to promote an organizational culture that effectively adapts projects to evolving markets. High tech authority Alistair Davidson's interview with Sun Microsystems CIO Bill Howard explains how this firm manages its project portfolio. On this topic, see also Catherine Gorrell's review of Double-Digit Growth: How Great Companies Achieve It – No Matter What by Michael Treacy.

Robert M. RandallEditor

In memoriam: Malcolm Whittier Pennington 1930-2003

It is with great sadness that I report the death of Malcolm W. Pennington, 73, one of Strategy & Leadership's longest-serving contributing editors. Mr. Pennington was the principal of The Marketing & Planning Group consultancy based in New York City and a Corporate Director of Kikkoman Foods, the US unit of the Kikkoman Corporation, one of the oldest companies in Japan and the parent of an expanding multinational organization.

Mr. Pennington was a tireless editor, reviewer, and contributor to Strategy & Leadership, a role that he began as a founding member of the editorial team of Planning Review, its predecessor journal. Throughout its 31-year evolution he supported the publication and its editors with his astute advice, insightful editorial contributions, and constant friendship.

Mr. Pennington was the co-author of Corporate Planning: Techniques and Procedures (Amacom, 1979 and 1986) Volumes I and II (with Robert J. Allio, now a Strategy & Leadership contributing editor). More recently Mr. Pennington published a series of book reviews in Strategy & Leadership. His most recent contribution, "Making strategy happen", a review of Execution: The Art of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan appeared in the November issue of S&L (Vol. 31, No. 6). First as a consultant and then as a director, Mr. Pennington played an important role in helping Kikkoman Corporation become successful in the USA. His long relationship with Kikkoman began with a close friendship between Mr. Pennington and Yuzaburo Mogi, now President and CEO of the firm, when they were Columbia Business School classmates in the early 1960s. In 1970 Mr. Pennington was influential in persuading Kikkoman to build a factory in the USA, a pioneering expansion for a Japanese company in that era. Since 1973, Mr. Pennington has served as a director of Kikkoman's US manufacturing subsidiary, Kikkoman Foods, Inc., and Kikkoman's major subsidiaries in Europe and Asia. In recent years the international business of Kikkoman has grown more rapidly than its Japanese markets.

Mr. Pennington was an early advocate of strong political and commercial ties with post-War Japan. He both admired Japanese culture and demonstrated a rare understanding of the Japanese themselves. Experts on US/Japanese relations admired Mr. Pennington's skill at building trust between the two countries' business communities. "America's good relations with contemporary Japan owe much to this quiet man of business. Both nations should honor his memory and achievements", noted Dr. Peter Witonski, President of Academica Associates and former fellow of the Hoover Institute and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Beginning in 1952, Mr. Pennington was an officer in the US Air Force (Strategic Air Command) and piloted B-25s, B-29s, and KC-97s. He served five years of active duty and 13 years inactive, retiring with the rank of Major. As a pilot of in-flight refueling tanker aircraft he survived three mid-air collisions with other planes and once successfully landed a KC-97 with a missing rudder and tail.

Mr. Pennington was a Director of The Jose Limon Dance Foundation for 25 years and its Chairman for six years.