Strategy in These Uncertain Times

With a turbulent economy, the volatile financial industry, escalating energy prices, and a presidential election in the balance, uncertainty looms large. How do you formulate strategy when you don’t know what will happen next? In the midst of a changing economy, most executives continue to use a strategy toolkit designed for yesterday’s more stable marketplace. As a result, strategies emerge that neither manage the risks nor take advantage of the opportunities that arise in highly uncertain times.

In this edition of Smith Business Close-Upwith the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Hugh Courtney, associate dean of executive programs and Professor of the Practice of Strategy, talks about the how to make strategic decisions when faced with high uncertainty.

Dr. Courtney’s publications on business strategy and competitive dynamics have been featured in leading practitioner journals such as the Harvard Business Review, McKinsey Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Optimize, Research Technology Management and Strategy & Leadership. His book on strategy under uncertainty, “20/20 Foresight” (Harvard Business School Press, 2001), was a business bestseller on Amazon.com, and received outstanding reviews from both practitioner and academic publications. In addition to his Smith appointments, Courtney is chairman of the board of directors of D&E Communications Inc., a provider of voice, data and video services in central and eastern Pennsylvania. Dr. Courtney also maintains an active consulting practice focused on business strategy formulation in highly uncertain and/or oligopoly markets. Before returning to academia in 2002, Dr. Courtney was an associate principal with McKinsey & Co., where he was a leader of its Global Strategy Practice.