Meet John Downs

He''s a new MBA graduate who''s landed a job with a strategy consultancy. His engagement team is on a mission: help HGS Inc., a specialty chemicals firm, define and execute a strategy for exploiting a textile technology the company developed.

John and his team deploy state-of-the-art strategy tools to analyze the attractiveness of potential markets for the technology. But they soon realize the tools don''t help them grapple with the human side of strategy--including political forces swirling within HGS. Everyone involved in the engagement is biased and insecure, brilliant and hardworking, selfish and lazy, loyal and dedicated.

John and his cohorts aren''t "real"--What I Didn''t Learn in Business School is a business novel. But they''re realistic: they''re just like us. Their story reveals the limitations of strategy tools and demonstrates tactics for navigating the messy, human dynamics that can make or break a company''s strategy efforts.

This engaging book uses the power of story to present potent lessons for anyone seeking to excel at strategy management. It''s a compelling read--whether you''re an MBA grad struggling to apply what you learned or in the fray and eager to see what MBAs get wrong when they land in the real world.