A Strategy Toolbox

Effective strategists are expected to develop, refine, and use a conceptual toolbox made up of various different tools (concepts, frameworks, and theories) that enable them to make sense of and act on challenging situations and complex opportunities. This chapter briefly describes this toolbox analogy and why it is important for any manager to have such a toolbox. It also provides a heat map of all tools discussed in this book and maps them by their most prevalent use across the strategic management processes of diagnosing, deciding, and delivering. This heatmap highlights that some tools are used across multiple strategic management processes while others may be applicable to only one part of the process.