Management Tools

A history of Bain’s Management Tools & Trends survey

Bain's Management Tools & Trends survey focuses on the 25 most popular tools and techniques that are relevant to senior management.

By Darrell Rigby and Barbara Bilodeau

First published on abril 02, 2018
min read


Since 1993, Bain & Company has surveyed executives around the world about the management tools they use and how effectively those tools have performed. The objective: to provide managers with information they need to identify and integrate tools that will improve bottom-line results, and to understand how global executives view their strategic challenges and priorities. We focus on 25 tools, honing the list each year. To be included in our survey, a tool needs to be relevant to senior management, topical and measurable. By tracking the tools companies are using, under what circumstances and how satisfied managers are with the results, we have helped them make better choices in selecting, implementing and integrating the tools to improve their performance. With this, our 16th survey, we now have more than 14,700 respondents from more than 70 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, and we can systematically trace the effectiveness of management tools over the years. As part of our survey, we also ask executives for their opinions on a range of important business issues. As a result, we are able to track and report on changing management priorities. For a full definition of the 25 tools, along with bibliographical resources for each one, please see the Bain & Company booklet Management Tools 2017: An Executive’s Guide.

Since 1993, Bain & Company has surveyed executives around the world about the management tools they use and how effectively those tools have performed. The objective: to provide managers with information they need to identify and integrate tools that will improve bottom-line results, and to understand how global executives view their strategic challenges and priorities.

We focus on 25 tools, honing the list each year. To be included in our survey, a tool needs to be relevant to senior management, topical and measurable. By tracking the tools companies are using, under what circumstances and how satisfied managers are with the results, we have helped them make better choices in selecting, implementing and integrating the tools to improve their performance.

With this, our 16th survey, we now have more than 14,700 respondents from more than 70 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, and we can systematically trace the effectiveness of management tools over the years. As part of our survey, we also ask executives for their opinions on a range of important business issues. As a result, we are able to track and report on changing management priorities.

For a full definition of the 25 tools, along with bibliographical resources for each one, please see the Bain & Company booklet Management Tools 2017: An Executive’s Guide.