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nonlinear shifts continues to grow. Consider what the future looked like only

a few years ago. Who could have predicted the collapse of the NASDAQ, the

drop ofthe Dow, the bankruptcy of Enron and WorldCom, 9/11, and war

with Iraq? What will the next few years bring? The only safe answer for an

organization developing its strategy is that the future is going to be even

more interesting. The leaders of that organization had better develop their

strategic thinking capability, or they will be in for a big surprise.

Christopher A. Bartlett

Coaching the Top Team

I

fthere is a continuum between consulting and coaching, then coaching is

much less about providing the answers than it is about asking the right

questions—and in the process, helping management find the answers while

developing their own skills and personal capabilities. Most company leaders

are smart, knowledgeable people stretched by sometimes over whelming de-

mands, and operating in organizations that are incredibly complex. Some-

times, it takes an outside eye to stand back from that complexity and see

that below the surface-issues lie deeper questions or more embedded prob-

lems that may other wise remain unrecognized or even taboo. And for the

Christopher A. Bartlett is the Thomas D. Casserly Jr.,

Professor of Business Administration at Har vard Gradu-

ate School of Business Administration. He has published

eight books, including Managing Across Borders: The

Transnational Solution,named by the Financial Times

as one of the “50 most inf luential business books of the

century”; and The Individualized Corporation,winner

of the Igor Ansoff Award for the best new work in

strategic management and named one of the Best Busi-

ness Books for the Millennium by Strategy+Businessmagazine. In addition

to his academic responsibilities, he maintains ongoing coaching, consulting,

and board relationships with several large corporations. He can be reached at

[email protected].