To help inform managers about the tools available to them, in 1993 Bain & Company launched a multiyear research project to gather facts about the use and performance of management tools. Our objective was to provide managers with:

• An understanding of how their current application of these tools and subsequent results compare with those of other organizations across industries and around the globe;
• The information they need to identify, select, implement and integrate the optimal tools to improve their company's performance.

Over the past 18 years, we have completed 13 surveys, assembling a database that now includes 11,163 respondents from more than 70 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

This year, we received 1,230 completed surveys from a broad range of international executives. We also conducted personal follow-up interviews to further probe the circumstances under which tools are most likely to produce desired results.

We focused on 25 of the most popular tools and techniques. To qualify for inclusion, a tool had to be:

• Relevant to senior management
• Topical (as evidenced by coverage in the business press)
• Measurable

We defined these tools in a booklet titled Management Tools 2011, An Executive's Guide. Surveys were conducted online in partnership with LinkedIn.