The way out of the crisis requires management consequences. The discussed management strategies lack a transferable, holistic approach applicable across all functional and hierarchically structured areas of the company. A comprehensive strategy is necessary for securing the future, specifically the strategy of general management. This work presents the general corporate model and describes the implementation of the necessary individual strategies in decentralized, autonomous business areas. The author defines the strategic fields under the aspects of 'customer orientation' (corporate management, marketing, innovation, environmental, and public relations management), 'employee orientation' (team management, human resources, quality, and information management), and 'process orientation' (logistics management, factory, production, maintenance, time, cost, project management, and controlling), consolidating the necessary individual strategies within the overarching general management strategy. The success factors behind the individual strategies are interconnected into a network for lean corporate structures. The guidelines for the rapid, practical introduction of the described structures are based on the author's extensive industrial experience. The general management strategy ensures competitive success and fosters consensus between management and employees. Social competence takes precedence over technical competence and specialization. The royal road to the top of the company opens up for the generalist.