Most organisations have a natural, in-built bias to maintaining the status quo. To a large extent this is often because leaders think their previous decisions are still appropriate, or simply, of course, because change itself is often hard. If leaders do make change, often they prefer to make just incremental Read more…
Strategic thinking is a skill-set and approach that everyone in an organisation – not just senior managers – can practice and apply to help how they do their own job and improve the decisions and choices they need to make. Being strategic is not just about business or organisational-level strategy Read more…
How good are you at strategic thinking? Certainly, it’s a skill expected of most leaders today. But, despite lots written on the subject of strategy (like on leadership!) over recent decades, there doesn’t appear to be any consistent definition of exactly what it means to ‘think strategically’. In my view, Read more…
A professional, external facilitator can provide heaps of valuable support with an organisation’s strategic thinking and planning. More and more Boards and CEOs now use one. But exactly what potential uses can such a facilitator serve – beyond perhaps just the usual perception of someone running a workshop or meeting? Read more…
As a leader, it’s obviously important that you notice what’s happening around you. But, actually, how much do you think you may miss or, if you are honest, might you choose to ignore or ‘avoid’ noticing? And what can leaders do to ensure they do notice better? The truth is, Read more…
Since business strategy was conceived in the 1960s, it has been rather stuck in a mechanistic, analytically-based groove. The accepted process has been very much about valuing data, applying various analytical tools, trying to predict the future, and then drafting up multi-year plans (with a typical hope, of course, to Read more…
The recent pandemic has caused many people all over the world to reflect on their lives, their wellbeing, what their purpose in life is and what they want from their jobs. At the same time, employers have not only widely stepped up to provide much more support to their employees Read more…
Human brains are quite inefficient cognitive machines. All of us regularly fail to see things accurately around us, we make poor assumptions, we misremember facts, we give in to cognitive biases, and we often make decisions based on emotional whims, rather than thinking rationally. In short, as individuals, we get Read more…
Here are a dozen reasons for hiring a professional, external strategy facilitator, rather than using an internal staff member or Board member to take on the role: 1) Independence: An external facilitator will bring a detached, ‘outside-in’ perspective. In contrast, an ‘internal’ facilitator will struggle to see things as objectively: Read more…
Do you consider yourself to be a strong, independent thinker ? Are you proud you can formulate your own thoughts and make decisions on your own ? Certainly, the idea of thinking for oneself is often seen as a valuable personal quality for success in life and career. Especially in Read more…