Heritage and organization

When Booz & Company combined with PwC on March 31, 2014, a new kind of consulting firm was born.
Strategy&, the new brand for Booz & Company, is the dominant premium consulting firm in the Middle East and
introduced the profession to the region over two decades ago. Strategy& inherits Booz & Companys brand
values of integrity and complete commitment to helping our clients excel. As a separate line of business within
the PwC network, we are bigger, broader, and better at connecting strategy to impact.
Together, we offer a unique, powerful, and distinctive combination of capabilities that allows us to develop and
deliver transformative strategies. We are first in foresight, dedicated to providing you with the high-quality thought
leadership that you have come to expect. Our name may be new, but we remain true to our values and privileged
to accompany you on your journeys of excellence.

As the longest-serving strategy consultancy in the world, Booz & Company established the profession and was
the first firm to use the term management consultant. In 1914, Booz & Company founder Edwin Booz began
conducting business research and solving problems for clients near his native Chicago. For nearly 100 years, the
firm helped clients realize the essential advantage needed to survive, thrive, and win, and was involved in some
of the most celebrated business episodes of their day, including:
the dawn of the contract system for Hollywood movies
the rescue of the Chrysler Corporation from bankruptcy
After separating from Booz Allen Hamilton in 2008 and becoming an independent firm, Booz & Company
deepened its expertise through several acquisitions and combinations. They included:
The firms combination with U.S.-based management consultancy Katzenbach Partners, a leader in the
domain of organizational performance, in 2009.

Axon Advisory Partners joining the firm in 2012 to launch a full-service team of strategists, designers,
and technologists who help companies turn ideas into transformational digital businesses.

The firms acquisition of international consulting company Management Engineers in 2013, which
brought together two firms with a similar heritage and complementary service offerings practical strategists
who work alongside their clients to get the job done.
In 2014, as part of the PwC network, Strategy& brings to client assignments the deep experience and proven
track record central to its legacy, as well as the breadth and depth of the PwC network. Our combined strengths
offer broader, deeper value to our clients in strategy, deals, tax, assurance, finance, technology, and operations
across every industry and virtually every geography.

Strategy& in the Middle East

The firms history in the Middle East is powerful. Since the 1993 launch of its operations in the region with a fiveperson office, the firm has established an impressive record. Today, more than 400 employees serve clients
across the entire Middle East region from six regional offices, inspired by the opportunities and economic growth
fueled by the liberalization and restructuring of many industries in the area. We have grown new business
steadily while retaining our established clients.
Strategy&, with its commitment to top-quality service and investment in talented staff, has earned its reputation
as the management consulting firm of choice for companies and governments in the Middle East region.
The make-up of our client base continues to evolve as the firms presence expands. We serve clients across the
region in countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
and the United Arab Emirates.
We are enthusiastic about the ongoing growth of the regional economies and the opportunities created by the
need to improve corporate and national governance. We feel deeply rewarded by the positive impact our work
has had on the lives of people across the Middle East. We are also confident that these factors, combined with
our number one position in the region, our inherent commitment to quality service, and the dedication of our staff,
will ensure the continuing success of Strategy&s Middle East business.
Strategy& has a new name and an expanding client base, but its fundamental elements remain unchanged.
Edwin Boozs vision of helping clients solve their toughest problems so they could thrive in an evolving world is
as clear today as ever. We are excited about this new chapter in our companys history and our place in it.

People and organization strategy

When an organization doesnt meet its stakeholders needs and expectations, the cause may not be a misguided
strategy or vision.
Instead, underperformance is often the result of a misalignment of the companys strategy and its many complex,
interacting organizational parts. To address such situations, PwCs strategy consulting team Strategy& designs
new operating models, based on market economics and customized to deliver against shareholder expectations,
customer needs, and the relationships among the constituencies in the organizations extended enterprise.
Tailored to meet a companys particular situation, a new operating model typically includes any or all of the
following elements:

Market-like mechanisms for allocating scarce resources

A decision-rights framework that clearly identifies and motivates individuals to work, individually and
together, toward strategic objectives
Profit-accountable business units formed around distinct value propositions
Overhead optimization and outsourcing based on market models to serve internal clients responsively
and competitively
Lean and strategically focused head offices

Alliances and partnerships with best-in-class providers to leverage scale, access expertise, and
increase flexibility

Linkages among organizational elements that measure, inform, and motivate them to effectively work
together to execute the firms strategy

Defining the people requirements of the new operating model as well as designing the initiatives to
make fundamental change happen
Strategy& has deep expertise to not only design operating models and organizations, but also to help realize the
potential of a new organization by deploying our experts in organization efficiency, outsourcing, human capital
and talent management, learning and leadership development, change management, and strategic
communications.

Capabilities-Driven Strategy
A company's right to win in any market depends not just on external market positioning and not just on internal
capabilities, but on a coherent strategy that aligns these factors at every level.

The concept
External market positioning or internal capabilities are not enough to create a company's right to win. A coherent
strategy that aligns them at every level is essential. Only a coherent company one that pursues a clear
strategic direction, builds a system of differentiating capabilities consistent with that direction, and sells products
and services that thrive within that system can reliably and sustainably outpace competitors.
Three interlocking elements make up a capabilities-driven strategy.

Way to play
A companys way to play is an approach to creating value for its customers. A well-defined way to play is broad
enough to allow flexibility and growth, but narrow enough to focus strategy and decision making.

It may involve being an innovator, a value player, an experience provider, and so forth. More than any other
single factor, the way to play distinguishes a company from its competitors.
For instance, Walmart, the largest retail chain in the world, has taken its leading position with a precise and
powerful way to play: being a big-box provider of everything from groceries to electronics to houseplants at
everyday low prices, without special sales or discounts.

Product and service fit

A companys products and services are its most visible activities, both to its customers and to the outside world.
However, too few companies create a product and service portfolio that aligns with their strategy.
Instead, most companies compose portfolios based on short-term financial performance and shoehorn a strategy
to fit around that portfolio.
Every product and service that Walmart sells aligns with its way to play. Walmart does not sell big-ticket items like
large furniture and appliances, where it has no cost advantage, nor does it sell items such as recorded music
with explicit lyrics that run counter to its customers values.

Capabilities system

A companys primary source of advantage is a system of three to six mutually reinforcing capabilities that
together allow it to fulfill its way to play. A capability is a key strength of your business that customers value and
competitors cant beat. Its not a generic activity, but a specific intersection of people, knowledge, IT, tools, and
processes where your organization consistently out-performs competitors and that delivers a central aspect of
your way to play.
Walmarts capabilities system includes:
efficient supply chain management, aggressive vendor management, expert point-of-sale data analytics,
superior logistics and working-capital management

mastery of real estate selection and acquisition

sophisticated retail conception and design

As a firm, we at PwCs Strategy& have come to understand that most strategies fail to give sufficient attention
and weight to capabilities and disregard how these capabilities should fit together to form a mutually reinforcing
system. Because this blind spot is so common in corporate strategy, the rewards are all the more immense for
the companies that do manage to create an aligned set of key capabilities.

References:
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http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/