Strategic Thinking in the 21st Century

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Strategic Thinking in the 21st Century

• Ron Magnus
• February 26, 2009

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• Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has
  seen and thinking what nobody has thought.
• Albert Szent-Gyorgi von Nagyrapolt

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Think Strategically

• What does it mean to think strategically?

 The test of a first-rate intelligence is the
ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at
the same time, and still retain the ability to
function. - F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Business Case for Thinking Strategically

• Lays the foundation for consistent and resilient
  long-term growth
• Critical thinking and information gathering
  increases adaptability

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Types of Thinking

• Critical Thinking
• Conceptual Thinking
• Intuitive Thinking

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Find Interconnectedness
We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives
are connected by a thousand invisible threads,
and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions
run as causes and return to us as results. -
Herman Melville
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Asking Questions
The real voyage of discovery is not in seeking
new lands, but in seeing with new eyes. -
Marcel Proust
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• As a leader, is it more valuable for you to have
  the right answers, or the right questions?

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Why Dont We Ask Questions?

• Associate questions with problems or failures
• Fear of confrontation
• Fear of seeming intellectually inferior
• Overwhelmed with information

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What happens when leaders do not ask questions?
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Why does asking questions matter?

• Questions are at the heart of developing people
• The Leader must know how to ask good questions
  that promote specific and detailed responses
• To develop this skill, it requires a concentrated
  effort and practice

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Dos and Donts of Questions

• Do
• Ask questions
• Allow the learner time to answer
• Stay in the present
• Ask only thoughtful, necessary questions
• Use natural curiosity for discovery

• Dont
• Grill the learner
• Provide answers for the learner
• Allow questions to focus on the past
• Question to be questioning only
• Forget the learners natural curiosity

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Characteristics of Effective Questions

• Succinct
• Transparent
• Nonjudgmental
• Intentional
• Directive
• Grounding

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Building Human Networks
None of us is as smart as all of us. -
Japanese Proverb
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Network

• A social structure made of individuals or
  organizations tied together by one or more
  specific types of interdependency

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Building Healthy Support Systems
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Benefits of Building Human Networks

• Shared knowledge
• Builds trust
• Coaching and mentoring opportunities
• Nurtures an environment of innovation

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Technology and Human Networks

• Over 200 million people have Myspace accounts
• Over 150 million people have Facebook profiles
• Social networking sites are fundamentally
  changing the way people stay in contact

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Stages ofBuilding Relationships 1
1 Adapted from Making Your Contacts Count, Lynne
Waymon
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Table Discussion

• What can you do to build better networks?
• How can you leverage your current network to be
  more effective in your role?

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Innovate Persistently
"Innovation happens at the intersection of need,
information, relationship, expertise and
diversity - Carla ODell
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Innovation

• Occurs when an individual or group uses existing
  tools in a new way to change how the world works,
  how people organize themselves, or how they
  conduct their lives

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Generating New Perspectives1

• Join a different social group
• Explore topics completely unrelated to your area
  of work
• Give yourself permission to be different
• Take a day for self-reflection
• Read a book as a group and discuss
• Explore controversial dilemmas
• Set goals in specific time parameters
• Reflect on your upbringing
• Focus on continual growth

1 Leadership Development in Balance, Bruce Avolio
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Table Discussion

• In what ways can you create a more innovative
  environment in your company?
• What is the last innovative suggestion you heard
  from your people?

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Thinking Strategically

• Encourage your leaders to
• find interconnectedness
• build human networks
• innovate persistently
• Focus on the bigger picture- how a change in one
  part of the organization could effect other parts
• Reward innovative or creative ideas
• Allow opportunity for your employees to build
  their own networks and encourage them to leverage
  those networks

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Thank You
Ron Magnus FMI Corporation 55 Madison, Suite
410 Denver, CO 80206 P 303.377.4740 rmagnus_at_fmin
et.com www.fminet.com