Management Hall of Fame
Most Respected Management Gurus

Igor Ansoff
Ansoff Matrix - Father of Corporate Strategy (1918 - Present)

"Structure will become a dynamic enabler of both change and unchanged, the ultimate model of organizational chaos." (Igor Ansoff)

Key Work
Igor Ansoff was the originator of the strategic management concept, and was responsible for establishing strategic planning as a management activity in its own right. 

• The Ansoff Matrix, also known  as the "product-mission matrix" or the 2 x 2 growth vector component matrix," Ansoff Matrix remains a popular tool for organizations that wish to understand the risk component of various growth strategies including product versus market development, and diversification. 
• Publish "Corporate Strategy" . The first text to concentrate entirely on strategy, and it remains one of the classics of management literature.
• Strategy Decisions & The 3S model. Ansoff identified four standard types of organizational decisions. He  developed a new classification of decision-making, and distinguished decisions as either:
  1. Strategy:  Focused on the areas of products and markets); 
  2. Structure: Administrative (organizational and resource allocating), or 
  3. System:  Operating (budgeting and directly managing). 
• Strategy Components: Ansoff identified four key strategy components:
  1. Product-market scope - What Product for What Market?
  2. Growth vector - How to grow?
  3. Competitive advantage. 
  4. Synergy - how opportunities fit the core capabilities of the organization. Ansoff explained synergy as how the whole is greater than the mere sum of the parts ("1 + 1 = 3")
• "Paralysis By Analysis". He Coined the famous phrase "paralysis by analysis" to warn against procrastination caused by excessive planning.

Books & References:

• From Strategic Planning to Strategic Management . New York: John Wiley/ Interscience, 1975.
• The New Corporate Strategy, Revised Edition. New York: John Wiley, 1988. (Revised edition of Corporate Strategy.)

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