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The Symphony of Strategy book

Ten practical lessons on turning strategy into action

Most organizations don’t struggle because they lack ideas. They struggle because those ideas never become part of the way the organization works.

The Symphony of Strategy brings together ten lessons from more than 25 years of experience in leadership, employer branding, organizational culture and strategy consulting. Rather than presenting another strategic framework, the book explores the practical decisions that determine whether a strategy gains momentum or remains a document.

The principles in this book continue to shape the work we do at Dandelion Strategies today—from strategy execution and organizational culture to leadership, collaboration and organizational transformation.

Book cover Symphony of Strategy

What you’ll learn

The book explores questions such as:

  • How do you define the real problem before developing solutions?
  • Why do strategies succeed through collaboration rather than ownership?
  • How do you build commitment before implementation starts?
  • Why does strategy need an effective rollout?
  • How do you sustain momentum long after the launch?
  • How do people and culture influence strategic success?
  • Each chapter combines practical experience with examples and reflections that can be applied across strategy, organizational culture, employer branding and leadership.

Get your copy of The Symphony of Strategy today and start orchestrating the future of your organization.

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Find this book in libraries worldwide:
The Symphony of Strategy on WorldCat

The ten lessons of The Symphony of Strategy

Every successful strategy starts with a shared understanding of the problem, objectives and success criteria.

Blog: No brief, no project; a deeper look

Most organizations solve symptoms. Better strategies begin by identifying the underlying problem.

Blog: Understand the problem before crafting solutions (aka preventing doomed strategies)

Existing knowledge, previous strategies and organizational experience are valuable foundations for future change.

Blog: Tap into your organization’s wisdom: it starts with what’s already there

Strategies gain strength when people participate in creating them rather than simply receiving them.

Blog: Strategy as a multi-instrument symphony: why strategy = collaboration

Successful strategies are built on genuine understanding rather than assumptions.

Blog: Escape the echo chamber: you are not your target groups

Delays can become opportunities to strengthen strategy, relationships and execution.

Blog: Anything can become an advantage: use delays to build speed

Testing ideas early improves both the quality of the strategy and the commitment needed to implement it.

Blog: Validate early versions of your strategy

The strongest strategies are owned by organizations, not by individual consultants or leaders.

Blog: The low-ego approach to strategy

A strategy only creates value when people understand it, adopt it and translate it into everyday work.

Blog: No rollout, no strategy; how to make it stick

Strategy is an ongoing process that requires reinforcement, learning and adaptation.

Blog: Sustaining strategic momentum, the encore

From book to practice

The Symphony of Strategy captures ten lessons that emerged from years of advising organizations on employer branding, organizational culture and strategy.

Since publishing the book, those ideas have continued to evolve. At Dandelion Strategies, we increasingly focus on a question that sits at the heart of every strategic challenge:

How do you translate strategy into consistent organizational behavior?

That perspective now informs our work on strategy execution, organizational culture, leadership, collaboration, employer branding and organizational transformation. The book provides the foundation; our consultancy applies those principles to today’s organizational challenges.

Continue exploring

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