Strategic Thinking & Strategic Action
Fostering strategic thinking and strategic action by organizational leaders since 2007.
Archive
- April 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- July 2023
- August 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- March 2020
- October 2019
- September 2019
- July 2019
- April 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- February 2016
- October 2015
- March 2015
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- July 2014
- May 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- December 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- December 2012
- October 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- April 2010
- October 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- May 2008
- February 2008
- August 2007
-
Action-oriented bias
- Nov 17, 2017 Trump trap: Action-oriented bias Nov 17, 2017
-
Approach-avoidance
- Sep 21, 2016 Approach or avoid? Sep 21, 2016
-
Bell curve bias
- Mar 28, 2020 We are biased by the bell curve Mar 28, 2020
-
Choice
- Oct 5, 2016 Managing choice Oct 5, 2016
-
Coaching
- Jan 22, 2024 Coaching and change Jan 22, 2024
- Apr 1, 2021 Let’s not be complacent about our ignorance! Apr 1, 2021
- Mar 10, 2021 So much can go wrong. Here’s how to make it go right. Mar 10, 2021
- Mar 10, 2021 Why settle? Go for the gold! Mar 10, 2021
- Mar 10, 2021 It's time for spring training. Are you ready to play on the A Team? Mar 10, 2021
- May 5, 2020 Avoid “the big fail”! Join a group. May 5, 2020
-
Consensus
- Dec 6, 2016 No consensus for consensus Dec 6, 2016
-
Decision biases cases
- Oct 19, 2020 Short-sighted thinking: The case of the “hot new smartphone” Oct 19, 2020
- Sep 10, 2020 Changing our thinking to feel better. Yes, we do that! Sep 10, 2020
- Oct 24, 2019 Remember, history is written by the survivors Oct 24, 2019
- Oct 22, 2019 Beliefs about a group matter Oct 22, 2019
- Oct 15, 2019 Not knowing we don’t know Oct 15, 2019
- Sep 19, 2017 Case 12: Not missing the opportunity to lose billions Sep 19, 2017
- Aug 29, 2017 Case 11: Getting bitten by not seeing it Aug 29, 2017
- Aug 29, 2017 Case 10: When what worked didn’t work Aug 29, 2017
- Aug 28, 2017 Case 9: The climbers who perished by succeeding Aug 28, 2017
- Aug 28, 2017 Case 8: No accounting for incompetence Aug 28, 2017
- Aug 16, 2017 Case 7: Blind or incompetent? Perhaps both… Aug 16, 2017
- Aug 16, 2017 Case 6: Seeing what he wanted to see Aug 16, 2017
- Aug 13, 2017 Case 5: Getting burned by past successes Aug 13, 2017
- Aug 2, 2017 Case 4: I’m the boss, so I am right! Aug 2, 2017
- Aug 2, 2017 Case 3: The experts were wrong Aug 2, 2017
- Aug 2, 2017 Case 2: The battle that didn’t go as expected Aug 2, 2017
- Dec 12, 2016 Failure without facilitation: The French Canal Disaster Dec 12, 2016
- Oct 26, 2015 Decision traps, flaws and fallacies: Learn from my unexpected big decision Oct 26, 2015
-
Decision making
- Jan 5, 2024 What’s your magic number? Jan 5, 2024
- Oct 9, 2023 AI revisited: Will it ever make perfect decisions? Oct 9, 2023
- Sep 4, 2019 “The instant of decision is madness” Sep 4, 2019
- Apr 23, 2018 Despite our growing ignorance, we must decide Apr 23, 2018
- Apr 12, 2018 Can “Big Data” deliver “the right decision”? Apr 12, 2018
- Jan 18, 2018 The worst accident: “We’re going!” Jan 18, 2018
- Mar 8, 2015 10 surprising mental traps: Why we make bad decisions Mar 8, 2015
- Mar 10, 2014 Often wrong but never in doubt Mar 10, 2014
-
Decision making biases
- Mar 10, 2021 So much can go wrong. Here’s how to make it go right. Mar 10, 2021
-
Evidence
- Dec 16, 2016 Misuse of evidence can zap your strategy Dec 16, 2016
-
Evolution
- Aug 6, 2016 Smart phones on the savannah Aug 6, 2016
-
Gratitude
- Oct 25, 2017 Thank you for our connection Oct 25, 2017
-
Group decisions
- Nov 15, 2016 #2 error: Not using the group advantage Nov 15, 2016
- Oct 22, 2015 Open up your thinking: Make better decisions in a group process Oct 22, 2015
-
Leadership
- Nov 14, 2016 #1 error: The leader problem Nov 14, 2016
- Feb 1, 2016 Leaders who mislead: A tale of two movies Feb 1, 2016
-
Pre-mortem
- Sep 12, 2016 Thinking “as if” Sep 12, 2016
-
Risk
- Jun 9, 2020 The Black Swan and us Jun 9, 2020
- Jan 10, 2017 The risk of ignoring risk Jan 10, 2017
- Oct 14, 2016 Risk and regret Oct 14, 2016
-
Strategic planning
- Apr 10, 2024 Bridge the strategy gap Apr 10, 2024
- Feb 23, 2024 Don't waste your time planning, unless... Feb 23, 2024
- Dec 18, 2023 The secret sauce of successful plan implementation Dec 18, 2023
- Nov 20, 2023 How to build commitment to change, revisited Nov 20, 2023
- Oct 3, 2023 Success Starts With a Big Vision Oct 3, 2023
- Aug 24, 2021 Sometimes you get what you need Aug 24, 2021
- Feb 25, 2021 Do you measure up? Feb 25, 2021
- Jul 28, 2020 Forget business as usual Jul 28, 2020
- Oct 9, 2014 What’s driving your organization? Oct 9, 2014
- Feb 20, 2014 This is not an infomercial Feb 20, 2014
- Feb 11, 2014 The Big Fail Feb 11, 2014
- Mar 12, 2013 Parsimony and planning Mar 12, 2013
-
Strategic thinking
- Feb 27, 2024 Desirable difficulties Feb 27, 2024
- Jan 13, 2024 Business model question: Produce or provide? Jan 13, 2024
- Jan 5, 2024 What’s your magic number? Jan 5, 2024
- Jul 5, 2023 Think wide to succeed: How will you compete? Jul 5, 2023
- Mar 25, 2014 Flight 370 and strategic thinking Mar 25, 2014
-
Strategy
- Apr 8, 2024 What do your customers expect? Apr 8, 2024
- Nov 13, 2023 Demand a great brand! Nov 13, 2023
- Oct 31, 2017 Why not plan to be great, like Elon Musk? Oct 31, 2017
-
Success
- Jul 24, 2019 22 principles I have learned from being an athlete Jul 24, 2019
-
Sunk cost fallacy
- Mar 21, 2015 Sunk cost fallacy: Throwing good money after bad Mar 21, 2015
Desirable difficulties
Too often I see organizations and leaders take the easy road, the worn path, the usual course, going with the flow. The organizations and leaders I work with should not expect me to endorse that approach to business (or life). There is a direct line between difficulty and achievement, whether for athletes or business people. The easy road is almost never that direct line (ignoring the element of luck).
Business model question: Produce or provide?
When designing (or redesigning) how the organization works, consider the question of production versus provision. The organization’s underlying business model is designed to deliver products or services to customers, to create and capture value. But there is no reason that the starting assumption should be that the organization is the entity that creates the services that it delivers.
What’s your magic number?
As humans, we are programmed to use heuristics, that is, mental shortcuts, to enable us to act without knowing all that could be known and taken into account to shape our actions.
Think wide to succeed: How will you compete?
In my ongoing work with organizations and decision makers, a host of problems, issues, and opportunities repeatedly surface. My client may raise a topic worthy of wide thinking or I may see its shape looming around us as we work toward a better future.
Flight 370 and strategic thinking
The tragedy of a lost Boeing 777 airliner and its passengers has dominated the news, starting with 24/7 coverage by CNN. This news coverage has spawned and forwarded many theories about just what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, some simple, some complex, some as far-fetched as flying into a black hole. The tremendous divergence of ideas, claims, hypothesis and theories about what transpired with Flight 370 is striking, and even disturbing if the standard by which to judge the thinking is logic. The torrent of conversation about Flight 370 offers an opportunity to explore how strategic thinking can be used to best assess a complex situation. The applicable points for organizational strategists seeking to find the best path to a better future include situation/SWOT analysis, strategy formulation and risk assessment.