In an earlier post I explained the need to think in a set of six nested boxes rather than simply “outside the box.”

Context: a set of boxes

Here is a set of boxes shown with some of their component parts. These parts change and interact in an amoral sense – not good, not bad. They just keep on changing.

Although the senior leaders are charged with developing a strategy to deal with changes in the “bigger boxes,” the workers “in the trenches” need to know why changes are being made. This requires them to think bigger and understand what’s happening in the environment.

The workers don’t have to become strategists, but they must understand the impact of a changing environment. They want (and need) to know the answer to “Why?”

At the same time, the senior leaders need to develop strategies that can be implemented. It would be foolish to develop strategies that “look good on paper” but can’t be implemented. If the leaders don’t truly understand the real capabilities and capacities of the operating units and the people within them, they will develop plans that can’t come true.

And then there is the plight of the middle managers. They have to know enough about the ecosystem and industry to explain the changes and the strategies to the workforce. At the same time they need to understand the real capabilities and capacity of the enterprise to make strategy real.

(Side note: I’m convinced that middle managers have the toughest and most underappreciated job in any organization. But that is a note for another time.)

Strategic thinking

Our late partner, Oliver Cummings, used to spar with us regarding the terms strategy and strategic thinking. We never came to a final set of definitions, but we did come close to settling on the following:

• Strategic thinking is simply careful thinking about taking any organization into its future. Sometimes this means problem solving; sometimes this means innovation; sometimes this means being different for an important reason.
• Strategic thinking has nothing to do with where you reside on the org chart. It has to do with your willingness to engage your mind about “intercepting the future.” This could be the future of your career, job unit, company, industry, or society in general.

Improving strategic thinking

There are plenty of tools we might use to help us develop a strategy but it’s the use of these tools in the hands of a craftsman or artisan that makes all the difference.

Maybe you like the Five-Force Model (40+ years old), or Value Disciplines (30 years old), or Blue Ocean Strategy (20 years old), or Design Thinking, or Scenario Planning, or ………

But before you grab your favorite model, we suggest you spend a few minutes to think about your thinking. Consider these three facets:

• Questions you should ask about all the boxes.
• Stuff you need to know, some specific, some general.
• Actions you need to take to keep the boxes aligned.

Here are some examples from workshops we have facilitated with clients, large and small.

Typical questions you should ask

• What past decisions triggered today’s conditions?
• What’s happening in a bigger box that will affect my unit in the coming X-months?
• Where is the future taking us and our industry?

Some knowledge you should possess

• Your company’s business model. Know how you make and spend money.
• Where your offerings are in their lifecycle. Remember, lifecycles are destiny!
• The relative types of uncertainty facing you and your career. Are your assumptions based on facts or hope?

Some actions you should take

• Watch for grey rhinos. There are obvious dangers you and your colleagues are ignoring. (Not sure what I mean? Get Michele Wucker’s book.)
• Vet all your assumptions regularly. The world is dynamic, and creative destruction exists.
• Place regular, small bets to prepare for the future.

The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes used to admonish his pal, Watson, to fit the theory to the facts, not the facts to the theory. Pay attention to your theory of your future.

Next time

Maybe it’s time to tune the thinking machine that resides between your ears? Now that AI can do the easy, data dependent jobs it’s time for a little personal predictive and preventative maintenance.