Finally, the book and its accompanying website cover strategy tools and link them to the five strategy approaches, creating five strategy toolboxes. This is a good development but one with insufficient coverage of the available strategy tools. In my research on strategy tools covering the same period (-), I identified over strategy tools. Some of these strategy tools include backcasting [], business wargaming [], assumption-based planning [], strategy under uncertainty [], the three horizons framework [], strategy diamond [], portfolio of initiatives [], strategy as active waiting [], the strategy tripod framework [], and capabilities-driven strategy []. BCG’s narrow coverage of strategy tools combined with fewer strategy approaches results in limited and incomplete strategy toolboxes and consequently, inadequate strategy guidance.

The Strategy Palette is one of the more recent and probably the most recognized framework for selecting the appropriate strategy approach. The framework’s use of dichotomous variables with low and high values makes it simple and easy to understand. It does not stop at identifying the strategy approaches, instead further linking them with the relevant strategy tools. BCG also has an interactive website for the strategy tools providing a short description of the tool, its author(s), and the original reference. The linking of the various strategy tools to strategy approaches allows for the creation of a strategy toolbox for each approach that can be used by strategists []. Moreover, the book provides several case studies and vignettes to explicate the strategy approaches.

The renewal strategy approach seeks to ensure the company survives the harsh environment it has found itself in because of a misfit between its strategy and environment, or because it is being subjected to a major external or internal disturbance. Regardless of the factors which have caused the hardship, companies need to, in the short term, first ensure their viability by pursuing a defensive strategy which reduces costs, gets rid of unattractive businesses or products, conserves capital, and saves and frees up resources. Afterwards, they should pursue one of the four strategies mentioned above for the long-term. Therefore, this strategy approach is only temporary in nature.

The generic visionary strategy approach is entrepreneurial and usually used by start-ups. It involves envisaging, building, and persisting. The approach starts with envisaging an opportunity that has arisen due to technological discontinuity, change in customer behavior, or the emergence of a megatrend. Once a vision has been agreed on, the entrepreneurs move to create a company that can fulfil the vision. Then, they commit resources and persist in pursuing the vision. BCG research has identified seven strategy tools that can be used with the visionary approach. These strategy tools are innovation adoption curves, discontinuous innovation, disruptive innovation, value innovation, competing for the future, tipping point, and blue ocean strategy.

The strategy palette has three dichotomous variables – predictability, malleability, and harshness. Predictability is defined as the extent to which the organization can predict the key strategy variables in its environment which impact the focal strategic issues for the organization. It also relates to how far into the future the organization can make such predictions. Malleability is defined as the extent to which the organization and its competitors could influence these key strategy variables. Harshness refers to the ability to survive a harsh environment.