Developing competencies that drive business performance

The need to strengthen the link between business strategy and management development becomes critical in achieving strategic change. The article shows how to replace managers' ‘learning by accident’ with ‘learning by experience’. An argument is given for a strategic approach to competencies. Against this background the author provides an explicit case history of how one multinational turned management development into a source of competitive advantage. The focal point of the approach is business‐driven management development.