Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick: People, Probabilities, and Big Moves to Beat the Odds

all these dynamics is the hockey stick, confidently showing future success after the all-too-familiar dip on next year’s budget. Truly, if ever there was one, the hockey stick is the icon of the strategy process. If we just mention the phrase, we get a knowing glance and a wry smile from the executives we’ve shared our research with. With

about job protection rarely produces the best outcomes for the company. The budget process intrudes, too. You may be discussing a 5-year strategy, but everyone knows that what really matters is the first-year budget. Inevitably, other sorts of games are played. Most managers, for instance, will try to secure resources for the coming year while defe