The Lords of Strategy by Walter Kiechel

The Lords of Strategy by Walter Kiechel is an overview of the history of ideas in some of the major players in strategy consulting, like BCG, Bain, McKinsey & the Harvard Business School. It provides historical context behind these big movers in the strategy world, as well as the shift in business thinking from operational optimization to strategy.

Our text can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Lords-Strategy-Intellectual-History-Corporate/dp/1591397820

A few questions:

1. What do you think about the role of strategy in business? Some thinkers, like Jack Welch, have focused more on just pushing forward, but is that sufficient?
2. Is it worth studying the history of business ideas? What can be gained from doing so?
3. Are you personally more focused on strategy or still on operational optimization?