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The Evolution of Strategic Management—Hoshin Kanri

Christoph Roser March 3, 2026

In this last post on the evolution of strategic management, I will talk about Hoshin Kanri. For me, it is the big thing—albeit I may be influenced by being an Ex-Toyota employee, and, while Hoshin Kanri was not invented by Toyota, it was certainly made popular by it and its lean manufacturing. Hence, it is also the last post in this series, even though timewise it came before the balanced scorecard, which also had Hoshin Kanri as an inspiration.

The Evolution of Strategic Management—Balanced Scorecard

Christoph Roser February 24, 2026

In this fifth post on the evolution of strategic management, we will be looking at the Balanced Scorecard. Like Objectives and Key Results, it is an evolution of Management by Objectives (MBO). It is also influenced by Hoshin Kanri. In terms of popularity, it is slowly on the decline, albeit still quite popular.

The Evolution of Strategic Management—Objectives and Key-Results

Christoph Roser February 17, 2026

In this fourth post on the evolution of strategic management, we will be looking at Objectives and Key Results (OKR). Like Management by Objectives (MBO), Objectives and Key Results is still frequently used, and often cited in connection with Hoshin Kanri. Hence, let’s have a deeper look at what Objectives and Key Results is.

The Evolution of Strategic Management—Management by Objectives

Christoph Roser February 10, 2026

Strategic management is the art of planning, monitoring, analyzing, and assessing all that is necessary for an organization to meet its goals and objectives. This is the third post in my series on the evolution of strategic management, and we will be looking in more detail at management by objectives (MBO).

The Evolution of Strategic Management—Managing Large Corporations Before World War II

Christoph Roser February 3, 2026

In this series of posts I will talk about how strategic management developed (i.e., how to have a big-picture view of where your company is and where it should be, and especially how to get there). In my last post, I looked at the situation before there was any strategic management. This posts looks at the time between roughly 1900 and World War II. It will be mostly about managing money and operational efficiency, but there are already a few big-picture view companies popping up.

The Evolution of Strategic Management—Before Strategic Management

Christoph Roser January 27, 2026

Running a company is not easy. A lot of lean tools help you with the small details and fuel the continuous improvement process. However, you should not neglect the big picture. How do you make not only small or large operational changes (i.e., the tactics), but also actually use a strategy to win the war (i.e., to lead a company to success)? That is strategic management. This series of posts will look at how strategic management evolved over time, with particular focus on its use in manufacturing. And yes, Hoshin Kanri will (eventually) be part of this short post series.

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