How might a traditional retail company apply Richard Rumelt's approach to strategy?

The theories presented in Good Strategy, Bad Strategy challenge existing paradigms in the field of business strategy by emphasizing the importance of identifying critical factors in a situation and designing coordinated actions to deal with them. It argues against the common practice of relying on template-style vision building or other forms of pseudo-strategy. Instead, it advocates for a more rigorous approach that requires a deep understanding of one's resources, capabilities, industry, and its surrounding space.

A manufacturing company can apply the innovative approaches discussed in Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by first identifying the critical factors in their situation. This could be anything from market trends, customer needs, to production inefficiencies. Once these factors are identified, the company can then design coordinated actions to deal with these factors. This might involve investing in new technologies to improve production efficiency, repositioning their products to meet changing customer needs, or exploring new markets. The company also needs to be aware of its resources and capabilities, and have a sharp understanding of its industry and its surrounding space. This will help the company to make strategic decisions that are grounded in reality.