Emergent Strategies

I thought I would add a brief example of an emergent strategy, as mentioned in a previous post. This example/story is my own creation. I’m not certain Mintzberg would endorse it.

Assume that the senior executives of company XYZ Corp. have just returned from a three-day strategy retreat. The CEO has a new task; he must hire a new VP. The job title is not relevant.

XYZ markets its products throughout Europe and North America, but not beyond those two geographies. During the retreat they considered an offshore foray, but decided to remain focused on North America for at least the next five years.

Over the coming months the CEO leads an effort to find the ideal candidate for the new VP role. The competition comes down to two equally excellent candidates. They each have ideal experience and other credentials within XYZ’s industry. One candidate spent six months, in the past, opening a previous offshore office, for another company, in China. The other spent six months, in the past, opening a previous offshore office, for another company, in Russia.

In the end, the CEO cannot decide which candidate to choose. The competition is a deadlock. He flips a coin, as noted in another previous post, and the candidate that hand opened the Russian office becomes the new VP.

The new VP joins the company and over the coming months comes up to speed and quickly becomes a key player and influencer in the executive team. Throughout many informal chats over lunch/coffee/etc. with other VPs, the new VP tells the story of his six months in Russia. Shortly thereafter, the executives head off for the next annual strategic retreat.

They decide to enter the Russian market.

Did that strategy emerge, or was it created?