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HBR Guide to
Thinking Strategically
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW PRESS
Boston, Massachusetts
Copyright 2019 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to
[email protected], or mailed to Permissions, Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02163.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Title: HBR guide to thinking strategically.
Description: Boston, Massachusetts : Harvard Business Review Press, [2019] | Series: Harvard Business Review guides | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018032610 (print) | LCCN 2018036095 (ebook) | ISBN 9781633696945 (ebook) | ISBN 9781633696938 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Strategic planning. | Business planning. | Industrial mangement.
Classification: LCC HD30.28 (ebook) | LCC HD30.28 .H394 2019 (print) | DDC 658.4/012—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018032610
eISBN: 9781633696945
The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Publications and Documents in Libraries and Archives Z39.48-1992.
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What You’ll Learn
Your boss just told you to “think strategically,” but what does that mean? Acting on this feedback is crucial for anyone looking to advance their careers—especially aspiring leaders. But it rarely comes with concrete advice on how to do it.
At a basic level, thinking strategically means maintaining a broad perspective on every aspect of your daily work, from making decisions to setting your team’s priorities and managing your own productivity. To do so, you need to understand your company’s key objectives and strategy and keep those driving forces front of mind when you’re faced with tough choices and competing goals. You must also align your team with these organizational needs, so that they’re working on the projects and initiatives that contribute most to executing the company’s strategy. And you must remain agile, able to identify changes in your business environment and alter course when objectives change.
It can be difficult to prioritize big-picture needs over short-term demands—and to know how to switch between the two. This guide provides practical tips and approaches to help you embed strategic thinking into your everyday work, so you can strike the right balance, create real value for your organization, be known as a strategic thinker—and achieve your own career goals.
You’ll learn how to:
- Be more strategic in your daily work
- Ask questions to better understand your company’s strategy
- Demonstrate your thinking skills in ways that your bosses will notice and respect
- Make faster, better decisions
- Identify when to broaden—or narrow—your perspective
- Detect patterns in internal and external trends
- Set your team’s priorities based on goals, resources, and timing
- Navigate conflicting objectives and manage trade-offs
- Cut projects that are no longer adding value
- Communicate a company vision to your employees
- Align your team to execute the strategy
- Deal with common problems like unclear strategic goals or a strategy you disagree with
Contents
Introduction
Why Everyone Needs to Think Strategically
In complex situations, you need a broader view.
SECTION ONE: Get Started: Be Strategic in Your Daily Work
1. Strategic Leadership: The Essential Skills
Six abilities to hone and apply.
BY PAUL J. H. SCHOEMAKER, STEVE KRUPP, AND SAMANTHA HOWLAND
2. To Be Strategic, Balance Agility and Consistency
Execute on core principles, but be open to change.
BY JOHN COLEMAN
3. Prove You’re Ready for the Next Level by Showing Off Your Strategic Thinking Skills
Don’t just develop them—demonstrate them.
BY NINA A. BOWMAN
SECTION TWO: Understand Your Organization’s Strategy
4. Understanding Your Organization’s Strategy
Gather perspectives from stakeholders and think through your objectives.
5. Strategy Isn’t What You Say, It’s What You Do
How strategy connects to your daily work.
BY ROGER L. MARTIN
6. Building a Strategic Network
Relationships to help you prepare for the future.
BY LINDA A. HILL AND KENT LINEBACK
SECTION THREE: Develop a Big-Picture Perspective
7. Spotting Trends and Patterns That Affect Your Business
Find connections between internal and external signals.
BY NINA A. BOWMAN
8. Look at Your Company from the Outside In
Learn what you could be doing differently.
BY GRAHAM KENNY
9. Thinking Long-Term in a Short-Term Economy
When external pressures demand immediate wins.
BY RON ASHKENAS
10. The Future Is Scary. Creative Thinking Can Help
Challenge your current assumptions—and anticipate what’s to come.
BY ALAN INY AND LUC DE BRABANDERE
11. Zoom In, Zoom Out
When to focus on the big picture—and when not to.
BY ROSABETH MOSS KANTER
SECTION FOUR: Align Decisions with Strategic Objectives
12. Reflect on Your Actions and Choices
Every decision requires strategic thought.
BY LIANE DAVEY
13. Seven Steps for Making Faster, Better Decisions
Tools to break biases and improve outcomes.
BY ERIK LARSON
14. How to Make Better Decisions with Less Data
Know what information you need to solve problems.
BY TANYA MENON AND LEIGH THOMPSON
SECTION FIVE: Set Priorities and Manage Trade-Offs
15. A Better Way to Set Strategic Priorities
Separate the critical, the important, and the desirable.
BY DEREK LIDOW
16. How to Prioritize When Your Manager Is Hands-Off
Align your contributions with your passions.
BY AMY JEN SU
17. Identify and Kill Outdated Objectives
Let go of projects of the past.
BY JESSICA AVERY
18. What to Do When Strategic Goals Conflict
How to choose when the answer isn’t clear.
BY RON ASHKENAS AND BROOK MANVILLE
19. Assess and Manage Trade-Offs
List pros and cons, and think about outcomes.
SECTION SIX: Align Your Team Around Strategic Goals
20. To Be a Strategic Leader, Ask the Right Questions
Drive dialogue with your team.
BY LISA LAI
21. An Exercise to Get Your Team Thinking Differently About the Fu...