'A New Way to Think' is Advice and Challenge in a Tight Package
Strategic management expert Roger Martin compiles practice advice for looking at business management, opportunities and challenges through alternative lens.
“Thinking outside the box” is such a commonplace phrase in contemporary business that it has practically lost all meaning. If everyone is thinking beyond the boundaries of corporate dogma and conventional wisdom, then no one is actually gaining a competitive edge. It’s a zero-sum game, which makes this particular phrase a mockery of a cliché.
In his 2022 book, A New Way to Think, Roger Martin doesn’t prescribe a model, process, or methodology for devising corporate strategies, identifying and solving business problems, or “thinking outside the box” (where is that damn box, anyway?). Instead, this highly respected management strategist offers ideas for viewing market opportunities, business operations, and problem-solving through an alternative lens.
Martin is a leading authority on business strategy and management, with a dozen books to his name, including Playing to Win—a personal favorite—co-authored with former Procter & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley. Throughout his career, he has challenged conventional business thinking, refining his approach as a professor of strategic management and serving for 15 years as dean of the Rotman School of Management in Toronto.
A New Way to Think isn’t so much a traditional book as it is a compilation of modified essays that Martin has written or co-authored in recent years for the prestigious Harvard Business Review. If that seems like cheating, don’t despair—there’s a real method to Martin’s writing madness. You can read A New Way to Think from cover to cover as you would any book, or you can pick and choose chapters in any order. Each chapter stands alone while also contributing to a broader theme—the importance of adopting an alternative way of thinking.
What makes A New Way to Think so approachable is that it isn’t theoretical but practical. When discussing the reevaluation of business models, Martin doesn’t offer a new formula to follow. Instead, he encourages readers to look beyond efficiency, cost-cutting, and rigid structures and embrace adaptability, innovation, and customer-centric strategies. Rather than seeking a fleeting competitive advantage, he advocates for "cumulative advantage," where continuous improvement and learning create enduring value.
As management guru Peter Drucker famously said, “The purpose of a business is to create a customer.” Similarly, Martin’s common refrain is to focus on long-term operations, value propositions, and outcomes that earn and retain customers. As he states in one of his essays, sustainable growth comes from prioritizing long-term customer relationships over short-term financial targets.
What’s refreshing about Martin’s approach is that he steers away from short-term gains driven by quick acquisitions, bursts of high-energy deal-making, price negotiations, and the relentless pursuit of quarterly shareholder value. True to his academic roots, he views business problems and problem-solving through an idealistic lens. While some might dismiss his perspective as unrealistic in the fast-paced business world, he backs up his assertions with compelling examples.
A New Way to Think is more than just practical advice and expert storytelling for business professionals—it’s a challenge to, dare we say, think outside the proverbial box.
I'm on a mission to read 50 books in 2025. This is book 18 in my journey. What books are you reading? What books should I read? Share your thoughts in the comments or message me. All thoughts and suggestions are welcomed.