Critical to the success of every organization, strategy is not a long planning exercise or document. Strategy can be simple, fun and effective and is founded on a set of five interrelated and powerful choices that positions an organization to win.
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Integrative thinking is a form of reasoning which allows you to constructively face the tensions of opposing models. Instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, you generate a creative solution. Your solution contains elements of the individual models, but is superior to each.
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Organizations need to incorporate the best of design thinking into their ways of working to unleash innovation and creativity. An organization will be able to counter-balance analytical thinking with intuitive thinking – to enable it to both exploit existing knowledge and create new knowledge.
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While prevailing theory holds that stock-based compensation perfectly aligns corporate executives’ incentives with those of shareholders, it does the opposite. As a consequence, executives have done brilliantly while shareholders have become increasingly frustrated. Incentives and governance practice needs to be transformed to enable corporations to prosper in a way that better serves society.
More on Incentives & Governance
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The combination of the stagnation of medium incomes and the rapid rise of high incomes is threatening the future of democratic capitalism. Its predictive future requires building a more robust knowledge, transactional and physical infrastructure for broadly shared prosperity.
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For both social entrepreneurs and corporations, the key tenet of social innovation is finding ways to make the world a better place. My work focuses on building tools for social entrepreneurs to create more powerful models for creating value for society and developing models to guide corporations on a path of productive corporate citizenship.
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Thinker Author Advisor Speaker
Meet Roger
Meet the Team
Let's Read
A New Way to Think
When More is Not Better
Creating Great Choices
The Rise (and Likely Fall) of the Talent Economy
Getting Beyond Better
Playing To win
Canada: What it is, what it can be
Fixing the Game
The Design Of Business
The Opposable Mind
The Responsibility Virus
Dia-Minds
The Future of the MBA
Rotman on Design
Let's Engage
Thought Pillars
Thinker Author Advisor Speaker
In 2017, Roger was named the world’s #1 management thinker by Thinkers50, a biannual ranking of the most influential global business thinkers.
Roger is a trusted strategy advisor to the CEOs of companies worldwide including Procter & Gamble, Lego, Ford, BHP & Verizon
Roger Martin is a Professor Emeritus at the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto where he served as Dean from 1998-2013, Academic Director of the Michael Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship from 2004-2019 and Institute Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute from 2013-2019. In 2013, he was named global Dean of the Year by the leading business school website, Poets & Quants.
His newest book is A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Managerial Effectiveness (Harvard Business Review Press, 2022). His previous twelve books include When More is Not Better (HBRP, 2020), Creating Great Choiceswritten with Jennifer Riel (HBRP, 2017) Getting Beyond Betterwritten with Sally Osberg (HBRP, 2015) and Playing to Win written with A.G. Lafley (HBRP, 2013), which won the award for Best Book of 2012-13 by the Thinkers50. He has written 30 Harvard Business Review articles.
Roger received his BA from Harvard College, with a concentration in Economics, in 1979 and his MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1981. He lives in South Florida with his wife, Marie-Louise Skafte.
Contact Roger through Twitter or email. Call us to book a speaking engagement or other services.
Roger is available for keynote and other speaking engagements. Advisory services and team workshops can also be booked with Roger.
Articles
Harvard Business Review
The One Thing You Need to Know About Managing Functions
July-August 2019
HBR.org
Why Smart People Struggle with Strategy
June 12, 2014
Harvard Business Review
The Big Lie of Strategic Planning
January–February 2014
Harvard Business Review
Bringing Science to the Art of Strategy
September 2012
Substack
Why the How-to-Win Strategy Choice is So Hard
November 3, 2025
Substack
October 27, 2025
Substack
The Future[s] of Business Education
October 20, 2025
Medium
October 13, 2025
Medium
Revisiting my Definition of Strategy
October 6, 2025
Medium
A Primer on Strategy Choice Chartering
September 29, 2025
Medium
September 22, 2025
Medium
September 15, 2025
Medium
September 8, 2025
Medium
The Future of the Middle Class Depends on Frontline Service Jobs
September 1, 2025
Medium
Strategy & Your Investor Relations Organization
August 25, 2025
Medium
Another Playing to Win/Practitioners Insights Milestone
August 21, 2025
Medium
Strategy for Organizations without Competition
August 18, 2025
Medium
August 11, 2025
Medium
August 4, 2025
Medium
July 28, 2025
Medium
July 21, 2025
Medium
Strategy, Artificial Intelligence & Entry Level Hires
July 14, 2025
Medium
Going on the Offensive with Creative Strategy
July 7, 2025
Medium
The Writing vs. Editing Distinction
June 30, 2025
Medium
The Evolution of the Strategic Choice Structuring Process
June 23, 2025
Medium
Influenceability, Society & Strategy
June 16, 2025
Medium
June 9, 2025
Medium
June 2, 2025
Medium
The Trickiness of University Strategy
May 26, 2025
Medium
Generating Creative Strategy Possibilities
May 19, 2025
Medium
Integrating Strategy with Planning & Budgeting Processes
May 12, 2025
Medium
May 5, 2025
Medium
Dealing with Intuitive, Non-Strategists
April 28, 2025
Medium
The Myth of Objectivity & Strategy
April 21, 2025
Medium
Stop Working for Loser Strategists
April 14, 2025
Medium
April 7, 2025
Medium
Playing to Win & Regional Strategy
March 31, 2025
Medium
Will Artificial Intelligence Eradicate Practitioners of Strategy?
March 24, 2025
Medium
Developing a Powerful How-to-Win
March 17, 2025
Medium
Management Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices & Playing to Win
March 10, 2025
Medium
March 3, 2025
Medium
February 24, 2025
Medium
February 17, 2025
Medium
February 10, 2025
Medium
Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights Year V Preview
February 3, 2025
Medium
Four Years of Playing to Win Strategy
January 27, 2025
Medium
Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights Year IV Review
January 20, 2025
Medium
Still Another Year of Strategy
January 13, 2025
Medium
January 6, 2025
Medium
December 30, 2024
Medium
The Danger of Locking & Loading
December 23, 2024
Medium
December 16, 2024
Medium
Addendum to Educating Extremists
December 16, 2024
Medium
Identifiability & Segmentation Strategy
December 9, 2024
Medium
December 2, 2024
Medium
Generating Strategic Possibilities
November 25, 2024
Medium
November 18, 2024
Medium
November 11, 2024
Medium
The Origins of Business Strategy
November 4, 2024
Medium
Parenting Styles, Management & Strategy
October 28, 2024
Medium
Statistical Process Control & Strategy
October 21, 2024
Medium
The Strategic Choice Structuring Process
October 14, 2024
Medium
October 7, 2024
Medium
Personal Effectiveness Strategy
September 30, 2024
Medium
Overcoming the Integrative Strategy Challenge
September 23, 2024
Medium
Strategy for Start-ups – Redux
September 16, 2024
Medium
September 9, 2024
Medium
September 2, 2024
Medium
August 26, 2024
Medium
August 19, 2024
Medium
The Importance of Strategic Tension
August 12, 2024
Medium
August 5, 2024
Medium
July 29, 2024
Medium
A Strategic Framework for Growth
July 22, 2024
Medium
July 15, 2024
Medium
The Five Deadliest Strategy Myths
July 8, 2024
Medium
Strategy & Sustained Innovation
July 1, 2024
Medium
How Management Can Most Effectively Utilize Boards
June 24, 2024
Medium
June 17, 2024
Medium
The Downside of Scaling Strategy
June 10, 2024
Medium
June 3, 2024
Medium
May 27, 2024
Medium
The Business of Strategy Consulting
May 20, 2024
Medium
May 13, 2024
Medium
May 6, 2024
Medium
How to be a Good Board Member?
April 29, 2024
Medium
April 22, 2024
Medium
Strategy in Highly Fragmented Industries
April 15, 2024
Medium
Good Strategy/Bad Strategy & Playing to Win
April 8, 2024
Medium
How to Become a Strategic Chief Financial Officer
April 1, 2024
Medium
Michael Porter’s Three Great Strategy Contributions
March 25, 2024
Medium
Investment Strategy & Artificial Intelligence
March 18, 2024
Medium
Strategy & Artificial Intelligence
March 11, 2024
Medium
March 4, 2024
Medium
The Doctrine of Relentless Utility
February 26, 2024
Medium
February 19, 2024
Medium
February 12, 2024
Medium
Is or Is Not The Opposite Stupid on its Face?
February 5, 2024
Medium
The Strategic Leverage of Where-to-Play
January 29, 2024
Medium
January 22, 2024
Medium
Why You Should be Afraid of ‘Great Execution’
January 15, 2024
Medium
The Number One Ranked Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights Piece
January 8, 2024
Medium
The Number Two Ranked Playing to Win/Practitioner Insights Piece
January 1, 2024
Medium
The Number Three Ranked PTW/PI Piece
December 25, 2023
Interviews
Stitcher
Demystifying Organizations: Balancing Stakeholder Interests
June 21, 2019
HBR Ideacast
July 31, 2018
The Reading Lists
Roger Martin: Reading to Unlock Mysteries
May 31, 2018
The Learning Leader
Episode 190: Roger Martin - Playing to Win: Strategy Is A Choice
February 12, 2017
Tonyloyd.com
Changing the World One Model at a Time
November 30, 2015
Changeboard.com
Roger Martin: Strategy is choice
November 9, 2015
Outlook Business
September 2, 2015
BFM 89.9 The Business Station
Raise your Game: Playing to Win
August 27, 2015
Val 202
December 9, 2014
Mind Tools
National Magazine
delawareonline
What I am Reading this Summer and Why You Should, Too
June 20, 2013
Odgers Berndtson
May 30, 2013
Forbes India
Strategy Needs a Mix of Data and Logic: Roger Martin
April, 16, 2013
Business World
Analytical Thinking Is Stifling Innovation
March 25, 2013
Inc.com
4 Key Things Great Strategic Thinkers Do
March 11, 2013
Business Insider
PROFESSOR: 'JC Penney Serves No Compelling Customer Purpose'
March 11, 2013
Business Standard
Every new idea cannot be proven in advance: Roger L Martin
February 24, 2013
Live Mint
Roger Martin | The Master Strategist
February 17, 2013
The Sunday Times
Win the strategy game in five steps
February 10, 2013
Business Insider
P&G's Legendary Ex-CEO Explains Why Everyone Gets Strategy Wrong
February 5, 2013
Forbes
Playing To Win: How Strategy Really Works
February 4, 2013
Inc.com
Rule for Success: Choose Your Playing Field
February 2013
Why the How-to-Win Strategy Choice is So Hard
Nov 3, 2025
Oct 27, 2025
How to Define True Strategy and Make Real Choices (Ivy.com interview clip)
Oct 22, 2025
