Strategic Thinking

114.396 Week Two Lecture

A Different Way of Thinking

 Questions shape perception, emotion and action

 Five different types of thinking/questioning
 What is the evidence?
 Why is that relevant? (i.e., So what?)
 What would this look like from a different perspective?
 What patterns can I detect?
 What if…?
 Strategy requires ‘What if?’ thinking
Change by Design (Blake and Mouton)
 Traditional approaches to change focus on the ‘status quo’
 Evolution: accept current reality and ‘tweak’
 Revolution: reject current reality and ‘scrap’
Change by Design (Blake and Mouton)
 Traditional approaches to change focus on the ‘status quo’
 Evolution: accept current reality and ‘tweak’
 Revolution: reject current reality and ‘scrap’

 Systematic Development starts by considering “What is ideal?”

 Create a clear picture or vision of what we want
 Then, measure the actual
 Allow the natural tension created by the gap to drive change
Thinking About Our ‘Ideal’

 Start with ‘Why?’

 Table stakes: what is necessary to be viable?

 Ideals are dynamic

 Getting there will involve a delay

Strategic Thinking: Two Approaches from the
Military

 Sniper: Put yourself into the future and look back. How did we get
here from there?

 Tank Commander: Fire, adjust, fire, adjust…

Maturity and the Generational Challenge

 Think about the coming ‘phase’

Organisational Performance Over Time

3.5
A
3 B

2.5 Generation 1

2 Generation 2
C
1.5
Generation 3
1

0.5

0
Time 1 Time 2 Time 3 Time 4 Time 5 Time 6