Our fortieth anniversary!

Citation

Randall, R.M. (2012), "Our fortieth anniversary!", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 40 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/sl.2012.26140aaa.001

Our fortieth anniversary!

Article Type: Editor’s letter From: Strategy & Leadership, Volume 40, Issue 1

Welcome to the party. To kick off our celebration of the fortieth volume of Strategy & Leadership I asked Robert J. Allio, the first editor of our predecessor journal, Planning Review, to write a short history of our publication starting with its genesis in 1972, four decades ago. His guest editorial in this issue explicates the relationship between our history and our mission – where we’ve been and where we are going – and why it matters to our readers, contributors and colleagues. To enable us to share these insights as widely as possible, Emerald has made his “A short history of Strategy & Leadership and the strategic management community that supports it” available for free to all readers. I urge you to share it with your associates. Happy anniversary everyone!

A few of the exciting articles in this issue: In “A tipping point for the economics of foreign outsourcing,” author Stephen Denning warns that the economics and risks of foreign outsourcing are changing rapidly. Given the opportunities posed by robotics and emerging digital manufacturing technologies and the realization that manufacturing abroad poses lower returns and may even jeopardize corporate survival through loss of knowledge and capacity to innovate, leaders need to reconsider their options and strategies rather than blindly pursuing short-term profits through foreign outsourcing. A sample takeaway: “But if the manufacturing is done largely by robots, what is the advantage of having it done 12,000 miles away?” Denning, a new contributing editor of Strategy & Leadership, has written a series of thought-provoking books, including The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management and many pioneering articles in S&L.

In “A leader’s guide to internal corporate venturing 2.0,” Deloitte consultant Michael E. Raynor explains why so many companies have such a difficult time adapting the behaviors that work so well in the venture capital ecosystem to the corporate environment. Raynor, author of the milestone book The Innovator’s Manifesto and a number of S&L articles, advises corporate innovators “The first step is to focus the corporation’s efforts on opportunity areas that are strategically relevant. Begin by identifying those high-level spaces that will define the future of your industry.”

Two Monitor consultants, Doug Randall and Aaron Harms, offer leaders a masterclass in communication: “Using stories for advantage: the art and process of narrative.” By mastering these proven narrative techniques, leaders can learn to be better storytellers, better change managers and thus increase the likelihood they will achieve their strategic goals. Doug, a noted scenario planner, has been contributing memorable articles and cases to S&L for a decade, a loyalty that is truly appreciated.

Good reading,

Robert M. RandallEditor