Managers must navigate many goals while guiding their businesses, including sustaining high financial performance, being sensitive to the environment, taking care of employees and customers, being fair with suppliers, and giving back to the communities in which they operate. Rather than just one aspect being the key to sustainable business success, it is the efficiency and effectiveness of a business''s whole value-creating system that determines its long-term performance. This text uses systems theory to combine the best ideas about sustaining high performance from economics, the resource-based perspective, and stakeholder theory. Tools are offered for analyzing a company''s value creation system; the information gained from this analysis can be used to create winning strategies that lead to the creation of additional stakeholder value and high long-term financial performance. Ultimately, this book offers a succinct yet complete guide for strategic management. Chapter 1 offers a brief introduction to strategic management. The primary purpose of strategic management is to assist businesses in creating value for stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, financiers, and the communities in which the business operates. Examples of how companies can provide value to these groups are offered. The impact of businesses on the environment and society and their sustainability practices have likewise become more and more important. The strategic management process is outlined and includes strategic direction, strategic analysis, system assessment, formulation of strategies, implementation plan and strategic control, and return and report. Strategic thinking involves having a systems perspective, being long-term oriented, considering the past and present, being intent focused, being able to seize opportunities, and testing hypotheses.