In May 2010, the UK’s new coalition Government undertook to take a more strategic approach to extending the country’s ‘global reach and influence.’ In was in this context that the Public Select Committee decided to hold an inquiry into ‘who does UK Grand Strategy?’ in order to ‘provide a fresh appraisal of the qualities of strategic thinking in government and any recommendations for improvements.’ The inquiry was supported by some of the most prominent strategy experts in the world and this report of the inquiry’s findings therefore makes fascinating reading, both on the nature of strategy generally and on the UK’s ability to think strategically and to develop effective strategy. The inquiry conducted by the committee led to the ‘profoundly disturbing conclusion that an understanding of National Strategy and an appreciation of why it is important has indeed largely been lost. As a consequence, strategic thinking has atrophied. We have failed to maintain the education of strategic thinkers, both in academia and in government institutions.’ The report concludes that ‘the answer we received to the question, “Who does UK Grand Strategy?” is: no-one. This should be a matter of great concern for the Government, Parliament and the country as a whole.’ The report made more than 20 pragmatic recommendations that it hoped would improve strategic thinking in government. Nearly 15 years later, it is rather sad to note that very few of the report’s recommendations were ever implemented. You can read and/or download a free copy of the report by clicking the below button.

The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) teaches post-graduate level courses in international relations, strategy making and strategic leadership. I was the Course Director there and wrote ‘Getting Strategy Right (Enough)’ to support the College’s flagship 11 month course in strategic leadership and the development and implementation of strategy. It incorporates many of the key lessons identified in Government reports, such as that published by Sir John Chilcot into the UK’s intervention in Iraq, and books, such as Hooker and Collins’ seminal examination of US interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan (both available below).​​ It’s crammed full of great quotes about strategy from some very authoritative sources! You can read and/or download a free copy of the book by clicking the below button.

This joint report by two Parliamentary committees (the Health and Social Care Committee and the Science and Technology Committee) was published in October 2021. As it says in the executive summary, ‘in 2020 the UK did significantly worse in terms of covid deaths than many countries – especially compared to those in East Asia even though they were much closer geographically to where the virus first appeared. The scale of this early loss requires us to ask why the UK was affected worse than others.’ And that’s exactly what the report does, looking at the reasons why the UK fared so badly and then making recommendations. It pulls no punches and includes lots of fascinating witness statements. I drew on it in writing ‘The Quick Guide to Effect Strategy’ and use many of its findings and recommendations in the presentations I give on why strategies fail. You can read and/or download a free copy by clicking the below button.

Although the final report runs to some 2.6 million words in 13 volumes, the executive summary – pictured left – is a much shorter read. It is so full of insights and recommendations about strategy making and strategic leadership that it is a ‘must read’ for anyone who is serious about strategy.​ Perhaps not surprisingly, I drew heavily on the ‘Chilcot Report’ in writing ‘Getting Strategy Right (Enough)’ and again in writing ‘The Quick Guide to Effective Strategy’. A very authoritative source of strategy wisdom and quotes – indeed, it’s a veritable goldmine! You can download a free copy of the Executive Summary of the ‘Chilcot Report’ by clicking the below button. As an aside, Sir John Chilcot saw an early draft of ‘Getting Strategy Right (Enough)’ and helped me by offering some suggestions that definitely improved it!

In October 2008, the UK Government began to inject £45.5billion into the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to prevent its collapse, imposing large costs on UK citizens. As a result, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) carried out an exhaustive inquiry into why the bank failed and whether there were any lessons that could be learnt. This excellent report summarises the inquiry’s findings. It concludes that RBS’ failure was due to ‘poor management decisions, deficient regulation and a flawed supervisory approach.’ Although a long document (450 pages), it’s a fascinating read, not least because it pulls no punches. I recommend you scan the executive summary (15 pages), dipping into the main body of the report as and when further detail is required. You can read and/or download a free copy of the report by clicking the below button.

On January 2018, Carillion, the giant multinational and facilities management company, went into liquidation. This briefing paper by the House of Commons Library, which was published in March 2018, explains the background and provides an accessible summary of the immediate consequences of the company’s failure. It also gives a useful summary of the different investigations being conducted by different Government bodies at the time the briefing paper was written. You can read and/or download a free copy of the briefing paper by clicking the button below. Note also the Parliamentary report into the company’s collapse below.

This report by two Parliamentary committees (the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee and the Work and Pensions Committee) makes absolutely fascinating reading. The inquiry was undertaken to enable ‘the reasons for the collapse of Carillion, and its lessons for the Government, to be considered in public.’ Again, like many such reports, it pulls no punches in concluding that ‘Carillion’s rise and spectacular fall was a story of recklessness, hubris and greed…Even as the company very publicly began to unravel, the board was concerned with increasing and protecting generous executive bonuses.’ You can read and/or download a free copy of the report by clicking the below button.

This seminal article by Horst W J Rittel (then Professor of the Science of Design at the University of California, Berkeley) and Melvin M Webber (then Professor of City Planning at the same university) was published in the journal Policy Sciences in June 1973. Although short (it runs to 15 pages) it changed the way people think about problems, differentiating between ‘tame’ or ‘benign’ problems and that what they called ‘wicked problems’. Their proposition was that the former have ‘findable’ solutions but the latter, which include many public policy issues such as confronting crime, do not have a definitive single solution. You can download a free copy of the report from UrbanPolicy.net by clicking the below button.

This excellent book by Harry (Rich) Yarger contains numerous key insights into strategy making. Published by the US Army War College, it’s a ‘must read’ for anyone involved in the tricky business of developing and implementing strategy. Not surprisingly, I drew on it in writing ‘Getting Strategy Right (Enough)’ and again in writing ‘The Quick Guide to Effective Strategy’! Yarger’s accessible style means it’s an extremely good source of strategy quotes and, to my mind at least, offers the best description of strategy as ‘a coherent blueprint to bridge the gap between the realities of today and a desired future’. You can read and/or download a free copy of ‘The Little Book on Big Strategy’ by clicking the button below.

This seminal book by Richard D Hooker and Joseph J Collins was commissioned by the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to try and identify the lessons from the US’ interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is crammed full of insights into strategy making and strategic leadership.​ I was fortunate to meet Richard Hooker in the US and discuss his book with him. I then drew heavily on ‘Lessons Encountered’ in writing ‘Getting Strategy Right (Enough)’. Lots of quotes about strategy and strategy making, but this time from a US perspective! You can download a free copy of ‘Lessons Encountered’ by clicking the below button.