Corporate strategy: Some lessons from consultancy: Solving management consultants

Solving is an international management consulting form specializing in strategy and with offices in Paris, New York, Barcelona and Cologne. The consulting staff, including President Roland Fitoussi, have written three articles, all on aspects of corporate strategy, which embody their experience in this field.The first, Diversification: Strategic Cure-All? takes a hard look at corporate diversifications. It points out that the chances of success increase if development is the motive rather than survival and if there is managerial synergy between the new and original areas of activity. The criteria used in choosing between diversification opportunities are important.In Turning a Business Around, Solving takes us through three main phases of turning around a company in trouble: rescue, diagnosis and reconstruction. The last involves a search for the organization's core business activity on which to rebuild.In Strategy: The Choice of Acquisitions, again making suitable acquisitions means looking at the acquiring company's basic business definition and unique strengths. Synergy, size of acquisition and the way the acquiror modifies his business portfolios are all important factors to consider.