In this article, Stan Abraham defines strategic thinking as a way to identify alternative viable strategies or business models that will deliver customer value. In order to search for appropriate alternative strategies, he suggests managers explore how to be successfully different, emulate entrepreneurs, find new opportunities, be future-oriented, and be collaborative. Using practical examples, he demonstrates how the task of strategic thinking is never ending and how critical it is for each person in the company to implement this mindset. “Only then is the company in a position to take appropriate action and only then can it reap the immense benefits of strategic thinking.”
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by in Long Range Planning on April 26, 2002
In this article, Zabriskie and Huellmante provide a deeper understanding as to what makes strategic and successful senior management.Though the identification of the six major elements of strategic thinking, they clearly state the tasks, questions, decisions, and skills necessary for senior executives to lead an organization in a strategic manner. Not only does this article offers advice that superceeds the plethora of leadership theories out there, but it also delivers insight into "how development programmes help managers master the the ingredients of strategic leadership".
by in Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation on February 19, 2008
In Chapter 7 of Roger Martin’s book, The Opposable Mind: How successful leaders win through integrative thinking, he discusses “How Integrative Thinkers Connect the Dots” in a chapter titled: “A Leap of The Mind”. This Chapter describes the three tools needed to enhance your integrative thinking capacity through the inspiring testimonials of Taddy Blecher. In 1999, Blecher revolutionized the state of education for the huge population of young blacks in South Africa by creating a “third model”, which led to the CIDA City Campus University. This story is instrumental in capturing the problem solving powers of generative reasoning, causal modelling, and assertive inquiry. Martin strategically uses the stories in this chapter to further demonstrate the potential of utilizing the “Opposable mind, to hold two conflicting ideas in constructive tension.”
by in Harvard Business Review on November 01, 2006
In this article Rosabeth Moss Kanter talks about innovation and common themes occurring in businesses when innovation becomes a top priority. There are many ways innovation can be killed by a cooperation, even though a business might be trying to implement innovation. This article identifies innovation killing attributes in businesses while offering innovation friendly strategies to combat a destructive atmosphere.
by in The McKinsey Quarterly on November 02, 2000
Philipp M. Nattermann explains why strategic herding, meaning adopting a competitors successful business plan, may be a good operational tool, but a bad benchmark. When two companies are competing in the same market both of the companies margins decline in the long run. This happens because when more and more companies enter into the same market the amount of profit is split between all of the competing businesses eventually making the market unprofitable. Philipp M. Natermann discusses other possible business plans that may be a better option.
by in Harvard Business Review on April 01, 2003
In this article Brian Pitman talks about changing the performance measure of a company. The example given involved changing performance metrics based on inflation to shareholder value. It takes a lot in order to get a company behind a more aggressive strategy like basing performance measures on shareholder value, but if a company concentrates on a couple fundamental metrics instead of numerous initiatives they become powerful growth strategies.
