Deciphering the Strategist

by Ram Shivakumar
01 Oct 2025

What sets the best business leaders apart? How did they develop their strategic acumen? What knowledge, skills, and psychological mindset did they cultivate? And what lessons can one draw from a recounting of the pivotal experiences in their personal and professional lives? Successful leaders excel on three dimensions of strategic decision-making: Diagnosis: sensing opportunities and obstacles; Transformation: knowing what changes to initiate and how to make them; and Persuasion: recognizing how to win the hearts and minds of important stakeholders. This case highlights the lives of four acclaimed CEOs: Richard Branson, Indra Nooyi, Satya Nadella, and Jensen Huang.

Learning Objectives

1. To learn how successful business leaders think, decide, and act.

2. To learn how successful business leaders develop their strategic acumen.

3. To formalize and refine your strategy playbook.

Details

Pub Date: October 1, 2025

Discipline: Leadership

Keywords: Charismatic leadership, Leadership, Leadership potential, Leadership qualities, Leadership styles, Strategic innovations, Strategic thinking

Product #: B6070-PDF-ENG

Industry: Technology, Food and beverage, Travel, Computer services

Geography: United States, India, England, Taiwan

Length: 8 page(s)

Berkeley Haas Case Series Follow The Berkeley Haas Case Series is a collection of business case studies written by faculty members at the Haas School of Business. Cases are conceived, developed, written, and published throughout the year, on subjects ranging from entrepreneurship and strategy to finance and marketing. Each case includes a teaching note for use in the classroom.

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