Executive Education White Paper

What if Performance Was Driven by Strategic Agility?

with Jérôme Couturier Professor at ESCP Business School

How can leaders develop and implement a business strategy that is both suited to market fluctuations and delivers results? Enter strategic agility.

You don’t need a crystal ball to predict that the business environment is poised for long-term instability. And all business leaders, whatever the nature of their organisation or sector of activity, are now sure of one thing: that they must face uncertainty.

How then, can leaders develop and implement an appropriate business strategy, meaning one that is both suited to market fluctuations and delivers results?

While it is fairly obvious how the notion of agility relates to times of crisis or simple flexibility within an organisation, it is almost counter-intuitive to connect it to strategy. Can we still talk about a “company vision” if it must be changed with each new event?

How can traditional long-term strategic planning be reconciled with the immediacy required to adapt to unforeseen circumstances? Can we play it by ear on a continual basis? Is it still possible for managers to anticipate? Is it possible to combine responsiveness and a structured organisation in a large multinational corporation? Are there methods and tools that foster agility? Can a company become agile in a strategic way or strategically agile overnight?

Jérôme Couturier, professor of strategy and management and academic director of the Executive Certificate in Strategic Business Management at ESCP Business School, sheds light on these questions – and their paradoxes.

This white paper is part of a series entitled “Leaders for the Future”, produced by ESCP Business School Executive Education, that addresses the needs of companies and professionals so that they can thrive in the face of challenges and a rapidly shifting business landscape.