Equity CEO James Mwangi Endorses Book On Strategic Planning

A new book that provides businesses and readers with knowledge and skills to draw and implement effective strategies has been launched. The book is co-authored by Prof Timothy Wamae of the University of Nairobi, Ron Price and Dr Evans Baiya.

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The book – Optimizing Strategy for Results: A Structured Approach to Make Your Business Come Alive – has been written as a blue print for corporate leaders, business entrepreneurs, SMEs as well as strategy students and consultants looking to design and implement customised strategies.

The book idea was born during the COVID-19 pandémic. It touches on various aspects of business such as effective communication, experimentation, evaluation and insight which are critical in preparing, creating and optimizing strategy particularly in the current business environment that is vulnerable, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA).

“During the Covid-19, one of the groups most affected by the unique operating environment was entrepreneurs running small and medium-sized businesses,” Prof. Waema said during the launch. “As a founder and director of several start-up companies, I was challenged to help others within the business community to establish systems and structures that would help them withstand the volatility of the current socio-economic climate.”

He said they have developed a seven-stage model, built on a proven framework that is dynamic and responsive. It acknowledges that strategy is a process that needs to align to the diversity of people’s talent, skills and passions.

Readers of the book will have access to complimentary resources such as the VUCA readiness assessment tool, various strategy assessment tools, online training courses and other psychometric tests that will allow businesses to have unbiased evaluations of their intelligence, abilities and potential of their businesses.

Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr James Mwangi, who was a guest at the launch, said the book is hinged on local authorship and built on the strong foundations that acknowledge the power of strategy in business success.

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“Local businesses, enterprises and SMEs now have a handbook that will help them establish and operate businesses that understand the value of strategic planning and why aligning your business vision and purpose with everyday operations is critical for optimizing strategy,” Dr Mwangi said.

Dr Evan Baiya, a co-author, said most people perceive strategy as a giant, complicated principle that requires a lot of investment. “By writing this book, we took a simplistic, systematic and structured approach to strategic planning and exécution and our vision is that local businesses can read this and apply this to their ventures with ease,” he said.

Insightful experience

For his part, Ron Price, said: “When we wrote the book our main goal was to help businesses run efficient businesses that survive the initial stages of their formative years. We have combined insights from our unique experiences and we have spent many years experimenting, learning and observing strategy in different organizations. This book distills the knowledge we have gained and we have presented it in a unique, new and fresh way.”

The book is available at the University of Nairobi and Amazon in hardcover, electronic, audio and Kindle versions.

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