From the Editor: The Virtual Strategist, Revisited

Ashish Kothari and Laraine Spector

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As originally conceived, the Virtual Strategist was created to offer time-challenged—and some may say, attention-challenged--management executives a smorgasbord of readings on contemporary business topics presented from theoretical as well as practical perspectives. After a brief absence, this journal is re-dedicating its efforts to bringing its readership the nitty-gritty on some of the “hot” business topics of the day as well as the more traditional, but always challenging topics—business strategy, marketing, technology, to name a few—that consistently dominate managements’ plans, agendas and boardroom “discussions.”

Of course, today almost everyone is pressed for time. When asked what they would prefer to read, most executives would probably respond by simply saying “less.” For this reason, we have tried to help the reader by offering a selection that provides insights on strategy as well as the how-to on implementation. While “hot” may be a word that’s overused and abused in the daily lexicon, we think this issue’s articles on stock options and restricted stock, airline operating losses, and Japan’s economic recovery clearly attain the level of strongly current if not “hot.” And to help you steer your ship in today’s rough business environment, we have included an article on value migration, which suggests how companies can prevent value outflow and foster continued profitability in light of changing customer priorities and competitive threats. And, if you’ve ever wondered what GIS is and how your company can employ such systems to achieve a competitive advantage, then the article on GIS is for you. We’ve even included a review of a book on conducting wars in the 21st century. Now, that’s timely!

If you have topics you would like to see covered or comments about any of the articles included in this publication or would like to contribute an article for a future issue, please contact us at editor@virtualstrategist.net.

In any event, we hope you will join us in welcoming the return of the Virtual Strategist and read it, too.

Ashish Kothari and Laraine Spector

Editors