Jay W Forrester Prize Award

Awarded to Kim Warren for his book, "Competitive Strategy Dynamics"

At the International System Dynamics Conference held in Boston, MA, 17-21 July 2005, Kim Warren, our founding Director, was awarded the Jay W. Forrester Prize for his book "Competitive Strategy Dynamics". The prize is awarded for the best contribution to the field of system dynamics published in the preceding five years.

"Competitive Strategy Dynamics" has been superceded by Kim's new textbook "Strategic Management Dynamics"

Kim's acceptance presentation had the following main messages:

Management has one over-riding concern - improving future performance ...
... and performance depends on the resources available [customers, staff, etc.].
These resources build up and decline over time...
... so management's key challenge is to control this process
... which is not easy, because of the interdependencies involved

The talk explained some of the challenges that arise for management, especially understanding 'what causes what, and why'. It demonstrated how, when these principles are put together, management can put together a 'performance panel' for their business - a diagram that shows how changes in key parts of the business combine to drive performance. From this foundation, the management team can sketch out strategic options and evaluate the alternatives.

Since this award "Strategic Management Dynamics" has been published. This textbook seeks to build on Competitive Strategy Dynamics and to make clearer links with established strategy teaching. Chapter summaries are on our book resource pages.

From a nomination for the award:

Kim Warren's book is a major piece of work – a unique synthesis of concepts from strategy and system dynamics interpreted through the lens of personal industry experience.... Kim Warren's work is not principally about system dynamics or its application. The book certainly makes extensive use of asset stock accumulation and simulation, but it also contains a heavy dose of strategy interwoven with an array of well-grounded case material and business anecdotes. In a sense Kim's book challenges the established view of what system dynamics is and how it should be brought to bear on strategy problems…. He is saying there is a great deal we in system dynamics can contribute to practical strategy-making by helping people think clearly and factually about the dynamics of asset stock accumulation."