My aim in this book, as in the previous editions, has been to cover the concepts and principles of strategic management, but not to stop there. Concepts and principles are of limited value unless people know how to apply them, and much of the book is devoted to application. In fact I would argue that those who never get deeper than the overall concepts are unlikely to know very much about their subject. But I would maintain also that those who believe they are expert in methods and techniques are only likely to have a true depth of expertise when it is built on a sound conceptual platform. Theory and practice are two sides of a coin, and the true expert will have both.

There are many ideas about strategic management, and the subject itself has evolved through several stages from its origins as long-range planning. Unfortunately some of those who promote new approaches feel that they also have to demonstrate the fallibility of everything that has gone before. This is a pity, because it confuses, and acts as an obstacle to a professional approach to the subject. True knowledge is built through the contributions of many people, and to try to deny parts of the past is to emerge with only a partial understanding of the subject, and to create the danger that the wheel will be reinvented, although disguised in different colours, time and time again. I hold to the belief that the 'right' approach to strategic...