Dear Visitor,

When I began teaching executive MBA level technology strategy, I found it to be as much as a learning experience as a teaching one. While being forced into piecing  together a syllabus from dozens of disparate sources and a variety of anecdotal materials,  I became keenly aware that that no adequate guidebook for strategy relating to technology currently exists.  

What does exist is an immense body of thoughtful and thorough academic work on everything from modularity,  to technology diffusion,  to the new rules that govern competitive advantage in a digital world. There are also great quantities of practitioner-driven knowledge that don't seem to be properly integrated or organized into a useful overall view of managing through technology related issues.   

As a technology executive who has witnessed countless strategic missteps (and perhaps made a few himself), I found myself wishing that I had been able to easily access these sources earlier in my career. Instead, I am now addressing what appears to be a 'knowledge gap' between many who make a full time career out of studying strategy, and those who manage firms in technology intensive industries.

The book attempts to combine, organize, and condense classic management theory of the "old economy" and industry dynamics of the "new economy" into a guidebook for strategic decision-making for executives in technology and technology dependent industries. I have also added my personal goal of avoiding what my students refer to as "over-priced, boring text-books from hell." You can judge for yourself how I've done against these goals.

The book is aimed at three audiences: The executive and aspiring executive who thinks (wrongly) that technology is someone else's concern. The engineer who thinks (wrongly) that business strategy is someone else's concern, and the entrepreneur looking to better navigate the competitive landscape.

I'd love to hear your feedback, please feel free to contact me!   

- Dave Rochlin