The Power of the 2x2 Matrix

The Power of the 2 x 2 Matrix is a gold mine of ideas and tools for the business problem solver. Draw from the book’s collection of 55 outstanding frameworks applied by leading business thinkers such as Michael Porter, Stephen Covey, and Igor Ansoff. These tested frameworks will help you tackle the thorniest of issues and learn how to apply 2 x 2 Thinking — the strategic orientation of the most successful and innovative problem solvers.

• Part One: 2 × 2 Thinking
  1. The DNA of Great Problem Solving
  2. Form, Method, and Mastery: 2 × 2 Thinking as Dialectical Process
  3. The Eight Archetypal Dilemmas
• Part Two: 2 × 2 Practice
  4. Designing 2 × 2 Matrices: Making Intuition Explicit
  5. 2 × 2 Thinking in Action: Fujitsu FTXS Tackles Level 2 Dilemmas
• Part Three: 2 × 2 Frameworks Inventory
  
  6. Strategic Frameworks
     • Beyond Customer Led
     • Discontinuity and the Life Cycle
     • Customer as Value Manager
     • Customer Value Analysis
     • Scenarios
     • Gartner Magic Quadrant
     • Portfolio Analysis
     • Dialectical SWOT Analysis: Strengthsm Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
     • Market Tipping
     • Corporate Strategy
     • Generic Strategy
     • E-Business Opportunity Matrix
     • Global Product Planning
     • Generic Network Strategy
     • Mass Customization: The Four Approaches
     • Attentionscape
     • Managing Customer Loyalty
     • Likelihood to Buy
     • Revenue and Profitability
     • BCG: Product Portfolio Matrix
     • Impact-Uncertainty Matrix
     • Entrance and Exit Strategies
  7. Organizational Frameworks
     • Good to Great Matrix of Creative Discipline
     • Employee Motivation
     • Alliance Drivers
     • Team Types
     • Situational Leadership
     • The Four Power Players in Knowledge Organizations
     • T-Group Leadership
     • SECI
     • Human Capital
     • Differentiation and Integration
     • Means and Ends
     • The Change Grid
     • Learning and Change
     • Similarities and Differences
     • The Four Realms of Experience
     • Make versus Buy
     • Four Square Model
     • Product and Supply Chain Architecture
     • Telematics Framework
     • The Virtue Matrix
  8. Individual Frameworks
     • Johari Window
     • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
     • Learning Style Inventory
     • I'm OK, You're OK: The Four Life Positions
     • Conflict Mode
     • Social Styles
     • Getting It Right
     • Leadership Coaching
     • Career Transitioning
     • Prisoner's Dilemma
     • Urgency and Importance
     • Influence and Concern
       

The first third of the book is an overview of the matrix status and the uses for it. Not bad, but not very breath-taking either.

The last two thirds is a lot of 2x2 matrices and a very brief overview of when to use them and how, and some references to other literature. It doesn't really make this a great book…

I love it for the idea of writing such a book was long needed and it has some twisted humour in it to see the standard management consultant fare so exposed.

A decent read, but don't expect too much.