There is no magic formula or strategic theory that can guarantee success. It lies in balancing the demands of the business, taking risks and no small amount of luck. By Spyros Makridakis, Robin M Hogarth and Anil Gaba.

Strategy theories make great claims about their ability to contribute to business success, but how realistic are those claims? We only have to look back to reengineering and its promised miracles, for a lesson in how far they can fall short. The founders, Michael Hammer and James Champy, claimed: "Reengineering does not seek to make business better through incremental improvements – 10% faster here or 20% less expensive there. The aim of reengineering is a quantum leap in performance - the 100% or even tenfold improvement that can follow from entirely new work processes and structures."

"Euphoria over new theories gave way to over-familiarity, disappointment, and finally obscurity as the supposed benefits did not materialise and the drawbacks were made obvious."

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