Rich Horwath is a consultant who helps companies with their strategic planning. In StrategyMan vs. the Anti-Strategy Squad Horwath uses a super-hero vs. super-villain comic book to teach his approach to strategic planning. He does so by introducing the factors common in businesses that lead to “bad strategy” in the form of the villains who are set on killing the strategy for TechnoBody, a fictional company. At each step in the process, the villains show up, only to be defeated by the heroes from the Strategic Thinking Institute (Horwath’s company). The heroes teach basic principles and tools that lead to successful strategic planning.
StrategyMan is a fun and informative book. While a relatively quick and enjoyable read, it contains much to help business leaders recognize common behaviors that can impede strategic planning and learn tools and principles for doing it right. Optimally, the book would make a good pre-read for a team heading into the strategic planning process. Unfortunately, Horwath leans heavily on the terminology and some frameworks that are unique to his approach to strategic planning. While there’s nothing wrong with the Strategic Thinking Institute approach, companies that already have their own terminology, processes, tools, and timelines may be hesitant to confuse participants by introducing an alternative framework.