Strategy Book

Hope Is Not a Strategy

The book for strategy makers

„With the StrategyFrame®, Jürgen and Christian free strategy from the grip of BCG, McKinsey and the like, and that's pioneering work. They give pragmatic entrepreneurs the tools and ideas to start the strategy process with their teams, without the complexity.“

Rainer Koppitz, CEO & Co-Founder, KATEK SE

„Hope Is Not A Strategy brings to life the transformative power of strategic thinking when properly planned and executed. It delivers you an actionable playbook designed to help unlock strategic thinking for real, measurable business impact.“

Brandon Carson, Vice President, Global Leadership Academy, Walmart

„The strategy process is both a learning process and an exercise in putting things into words. Throughout, the StrategyFrame® creates absolute clarity for every stakeholder along the way.“

Steffen Bersch, CEO, Big Dutchmann AG (ehm. SSI SCHÄFER Gruppe)

„As a mid-sized company, we get things done. The StrategyFrame® wasn't a theoretical exercise: we put it to work right away and uncovered new potential.“

Alexander Clees, Managing Director, CLEES Unternehmensgruppe

„With StrategyFrame®, we created a shared platform for strategic dialogue and built a storyline that simply convinces.“

Tanja Bücherl, Senior Vice President Group Accounting, FP&A & IR, GRAMMER AG

„This book is a gem. It not only provides a sound foundation for thinking strategically, but offers powerful tools for translating these ideas into practice in a rapidly changing environment. A valuable field guide for creating winning strategies, applicable to managers at every level.“

William G. Pietersen, Professor, The Practice of Management, Columbia Business School

„The StrategyFrame® helped us learn a lot about our own realities, redefine our focus together, and set clear areas for action to keep developing successfully.“

Dr. Dirk Andres, Attorney, restructuring advisor, and insolvency administrator, AndresPartner

„The StrategyFrame® gets things moving and breaks up entrenched thinking. The result: concrete impulses for execution and lasting progress.“

RA Max Schumacher , Chief Executive Officer, Bundesverband der Deutschen Gießerei-Industrie e.V.

Structure and inspiration for your strategy process

The book clears away the usual strategy myths and walks through every step of strategy work across the entire process. It delivers exactly the knowledge you need at each point in the workflow. With inspiration and real-world examples, it gives you concrete, field-tested guidance for developing and executing strategy.

Knowledge along the workflow

Making strategy takes enormous effort from owners, executives, and employees. The book clears away the usual strategy myths and walks through every step of strategy work across the entire process. It delivers exactly the knowledge you need at each point in the workflow. That way you bring structure to your strategy process, develop a clear and understandable picture of your new direction with your team, and build strategic know-how and momentum among everyone involved, including your stakeholders.

A workbook for strategy teams

Whether you sit at the top of a corporation or run an owner-led mid-sized company: the book makes strategy tangible, easy to explain, and ready to apply. It's for everyone who wants to make strategy and get started right away. With concrete, field-tested guidance for developing and executing strategy. That way your strategy process gets going while you're still reading.

From the book straight into the workshop

The analysis templates can be used directly for teamwork in strategy workshops. Tear them out or download them and get started. Agendas, room setup, and everything else a successful strategy workshop takes.

Now also available here

About Us

The authors

Christian Underwood (left) is an entrepreneur and consultant with more than 15 years of experience advising on strategy, transformation, and innovation processes in SMEs, family businesses, and publicly listed companies. He is also co-founder and CEO of the SaaS provider StrategyFrame® GmbH and co-host of the leading German Strategy Podcast "Hope Is Not a Strategy." He holds a master's degree in Political Science of South Asia from Heidelberg University, an MBA in General Management from WHU, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Digital Business from EMERITUS (MIT Sloan + Columbia Business School).

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Weigand has served since 2015 as Associate Dean and Dean of Academic Programs at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. He is Professor of Economics and Academic Director of the Institute for Industrial Organization and the Institute for Responsible Corporate Governance at WHU. His areas of expertise include corporate and competitive strategy and corporate governance. He has more than 20 years of consulting experience with companies and in the public sector. He is also co-founder and chairman of the advisory board of StrategyFrame® GmbH and co-host of the podcast "Hope Is Not a Strategy."

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