Corporate Radar: Tracking the Forces that Are Shaping Your Business

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Summary: LIFTING THE FOG SHROUDING FIRM's PRESENT/FUTURE ENVIRONMENT!
Review: Albrecht has written about environmental scanning in "The Northbound Train" (AMACOM, 1994) in which he focused on vision, strategy and values. In this work he explores the scanning process and creates a conceptual breakdown of the environment into eight critical sub-environments. These are: customers, competitors, economy, technology, society, politics, law, and geophysical.

These environmental sectors are different for each organization and need to be defined. He stresses the interconnectiveness of these sectors; many key phenomena cut across their boundaries, which are artificial. The value of dividing the environment into sectors is only to facilitate the process of analysis.

The author begins with a discussion of the environmental scan, an examination of the new realities of business today and Toffler's Third Wave, and provides insights on how to think like a futurist. The remaining chapters explore each of the eight sub-environments (strategic radar screens) to glean what can be useful in growing a successful enterprise.

The final chapter focuses on the issue of thinking strategically, as well as paying attention to immediate priorities (the author dubs this bifocal vision). This chapter examines how to extract and share meaning from the messages received from scanning, resulting in a document-the Basic Annual Strategic Estimate. He then returns to the highlights of the strategic planning process as presented in the "The Northbound Train" and very briefly sketches the dynamics of a strategic retreat or conference.and strategy formulation-these are not, however, main topics of this book.

This is a well written, absorbing, and informative work that succeeds in its aim of helping to make sense out of today's world of discontinuous change and outright chaos. It offers a template for exploring the environment and thinking about the future and, ultimately, identifying critical truths and insights, and prioritizing issues. Albrecht's final admonition is that environmental scanning is not a scientific process but guesswork. His book, however, greatly helps to lessen the guesswork-to lift the thick fog that usually enshrouds efforts to understand an organization's current and future environment. Highly recommended. Reviewed by Yvette Borcia, Editor, Stern's Management Review & HRconsultant (online), co-founder, Stern & Associates, co-author of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

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Summary: Coping with Paradigm Shifts on Steroids
Review: In the Preface, Albrecht explains that he has "evolved a relatively simple model for managing the daunting intellectual challenges involved in [a careful and thoughtful study of the business environment]. By conceiving of [that] environment in terms of eight figurative sectors, in which events and trends are acting to shape the options open to the firm, we can describe and think about at work there."

During the 14 chapters which comprise the book, Albrecht provides a cohesive and comprehensive "framework for learning the lessons the business environment has to teach; for getting useful insights into the structure and dynamics of a particular business sector, and for integrating a wide range of discoveries, findings, and conclusions into a unified tapestry."

It is important to keep in mind that, both literally and metaphorically, radar is merely a means by which to recognize and perhaps measure certain objects. It does not have unlimited capabilities. So-called "stealth technology" permits a number of strategies and initiatives which can preclude detection by radar. All organizations (regardless of size or nature) have information needs within these "basic environments": Customer, Competitor, Economic, Technological, Social, Political, Legal, and Geophysical. With timely and accurate information, an organization can more effectively "track the forces" that are shaping it.

Because change is the only constant, those forces are certain to change; the nature and extent of information needed concerning the "basic environments" will also change. Hence the importance of having a system which can accommodate such change, preferably anticipating change (eg paradigm shifts) but at least enabling a rapid response to it. Albrecht explains his "model." He then provides expert advice on how to devise a system which is most appropriate to the information needs of a given organization; finally, he includes step-by-step guidance during the implementation of that system.

For executives within organizations in need of such a system, this is a "must read."

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Summary: Insightful!
Review: Karl Albrecht wrote this book for executives who want to implement a formal system for collecting strategic data. The book appears to present a scientific method, but it actually provides a collection of subjective tools or scans. An executive needs these scans to track the forces that shape business. This collection of subjective tools makes the book valuable. If you follow the author's system, you will be aware of or anticipate most events that have a potential impact on your business. The book is written in a very straightforward, direct style. The author uses contemporary examples to amplify his message. We at getAbstract recommend this book to executives, managers and change agents in medium to large companies.