{"id":1326,"date":"2021-05-31T00:07:36","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T00:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sellingsherpa.com\/?p=1326"},"modified":"2021-05-31T00:07:40","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T00:07:40","slug":"hbr-guide-to-thinking-strategically-book-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sellingsherpa.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/31\/hbr-guide-to-thinking-strategically-book-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically (Book Summary)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"nolwrap\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/HBR-Guide-Thinking-Strategically-ebook\/dp\/B07D1RHSF9\">HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically<\/a> (HBR Guide Series) by Harvard Business Review<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>INTRODUCTION Why Everyone Needs to Think Strategically<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Strategic thinking is about analyzing opportunities and problems from a broad perspective and understanding the potential impact your actions might have on the future of your organization, your team, or your bottom line.<\/li><li>You gather complex, sometimes ambiguous data and interpret it, and you use the insights you\u2019ve gained to make smart choices and select appropriate courses of action.<\/li><li>Individuals who think strategically demonstrate specific personal traits, behaviors, and attitudes, some of which can seem to conflict. These attributes include:<ul><li>Curiosity.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Consistency.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Agility.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Future focus.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Outward focus.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Openness.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Breadth. You continually work to broaden your knowledge and experience so you can see connections and patterns across seemingly unrelated fields of knowledge.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Questioning. You constantly ask yourself if you should be doing what you\u2019re doing \u2014 whether your team is focused on the right things, if there is something you can stop doing, if you should change your approach, and how what you are doing is creating value.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>We recommend six key elements for putting strategic thinking into action:<ul><li>Understand your organization\u2019s overarching strategic objectives.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Keep a big-picture perspective.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Make decisions with the organization in mind.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Set strategic priorities and manage trade-offs.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Align your team around organizational goals.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Move beyond strategy and start to execute.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SECTION ONE Get Started: Be Strategic in Your Daily Work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 1 Strategic Leadership: The Essential Skills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>six skills that, when mastered and used in concert, allow leaders to think strategically and navigate the unknown effectively: the abilities to anticipate, challenge, interpret, decide, align, and learn.<\/li><li>Do you have the right networks to help you see opportunities before competitors do? Are you comfortable challenging your own and others\u2019 assumptions? Can you get a diverse group to buy in to a common vision? Do you learn from mistakes?<\/li><li>Anticipate<\/li><li>Strategic leaders are constantly vigilant, honing their ability to anticipate by scanning the environment for signals of change.<\/li><li>To improve your ability to anticipate:<ul><li>Talk to your customers, suppliers, and other partners to understand their challenges.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Conduct market research and business simulations to understand competitors\u2019 perspectives, gauge their likely reactions to new initiatives or products, and predict potential disruptive offerings.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>List customers you have lost recently and try to figure out why.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Attend conferences and events in other industries or functions.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Strategic thinkers question the status quo.<\/li><li>To improve your ability to challenge:<ul><li>Focus on the root causes of a problem rather than the symptoms.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Apply the \u201cfive whys\u201d of Sakichi Toyoda, Toyota\u2019s founder. (\u201cProduct returns increased 5% this month.\u201d \u201cWhy?\u201d&nbsp; \u201cBecause the product intermittently malfunctions.\u201d \u201cWhy?\u201d And so on.)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>List long-standing assumptions about an aspect of your business (\u201cHigh switching costs prevent our customers from defecting\u201d) and ask a diverse group if they hold true.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>To improve your ability to interpret:<ul><li>When analyzing ambiguous data, list at least three possible explanations for what you\u2019re observing and invite perspectives from diverse stakeholders.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Force yourself to zoom in on the details and out to see the big picture.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Actively look for missing information and evidence that disconfirms your hypothesis.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Supplement observation with quantitative analysis.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>To improve your ability to decide:<ul><li>Reframe binary decisions by explicitly asking your team,\u201d What other options do we have?\u201d<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Divide big decisions into pieces to understand component parts and better see unintended consequences.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Tailor your decision criteria to long-term versus short-term projects.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Consider pilots or experiments instead of big bets and make staged commitments.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>To improve your ability to align:<ul><li>Communicate early and often to combat the two most common complaints in organizations:\u201d No one ever asked me\u201d and\u201d No one ever told me.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Identify key internal and external stakeholders, mapping their positions on your initiative and pinpointing any misalignment of interests. Look for hidden agendas and coalitions.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Reach out to resisters directly to understand their concerns and then address them.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>To improve your ability to learn:<ul><li>Institute after-action reviews, document lessons learned from major decisions or milestones.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Create a culture in which inquiry is valued and mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 2 To Be Strategic, Balance Agility and Consistency<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>For managers, it\u2019s wise to find a strong \u201cnumber two\u201d who can check your worst impulses and enhance your strengths.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 3 Prove You\u2019re Ready for the Next Level by Showing Off Your Strategic Thinking Skills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It requires you gain exposure to strategic roles, synthesize broad information, participate in a culture of curiosity, and gather experiences that allow you to identify patterns and connect the dots in novel ways.<\/li><li>Demonstrating strategic thinking requires that you are simultaneously a marketer, a salesperson, and a change agent.<\/li><li>By better understanding trends within the function, the company, the industry, or the macro environment, and asking, \u201cHow might this impact my function or organization?\u201d<\/li><li>Block out 30 minutes on your calendar before important meetings.<\/li><li>To display strategic thinking, you must synthesize disparate thoughts into a point of view and a vision that your bosses can see.<\/li><li>Shift your contributions in senior executive meetings from operational input to strategic input.<\/li><li>Package your ideas into a vision for the organization and engaged your peers in new discussions about how the vision could impact their areas.<\/li><li>Demonstrating that you think strategically about hiring and talent development is a surefire way to make your leaders notice you.<\/li><li>Show that you can initiate innovation and bring strategic change<\/li><li>Demonstrate that you can use your knowledge to put new ideas into action.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SECTION TWO Understand Your Organization\u2019s Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 4 Understanding Your Organization\u2019s Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ask where the biggest risks are<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 5 Strategy Isn\u2019t What You Say, It\u2019s What You Do<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A company\u2019s strategy is what the company\u2019s people are actually doing, not the slogan their bosses articulate.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 6 Building a Strategic Network<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>You need not one but three networks: operational, developmental, and strategic.<\/li><li>People in other units of the company, and outside, on whom and on whose work you rely on do your work. This is your operational network.<\/li><li>Your developmental network is the collection of individuals whom you trust and to whom you can turn for a sympathetic ear, advice (depending on their experience), and a place to discuss and explore professional options<\/li><li>A strategic network is about tomorrow. It comprises those who can help you do two critical tasks:<ul><li>Define what the future will bring<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Prepare for and succeed in that future.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Your strategic network consists of outposts \u2014 individuals who work on the horizon of your world and can see into worlds beyond, both inside and outside your organization. Your links to these outposts will mostly be what sociologists call \u201cweak ties.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SECTION THREE Develop a Big \u2013 Picture Perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 7 Spotting Trends and Patterns That Affect Your Business<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Start by paying attention to the internal signals within your company that may give rise to opportunities or challenges right under your nose.<\/li><li>Understanding root cause can help you find a solution to the problem you\u2019re facing or a better path forward if change requires it.<\/li><li>In exploring root causes, you will also need to consider external forces affecting your business.<\/li><li>Discuss the implications of trends.<\/li><li>Combine trends and build multiple scenarios for the future.<\/li><li>Meaningful insights often arise when we combine different trends and then ask the question, \u201cWhat would happen if&#8230;?\u201d<\/li><li>Our assumptions and unconscious biases may cloud our objectivity, which can cause us to see a trend that we want to see, rather than what is actually there.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 8 Look at Your Company from the Outside In<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Effective leaders listen. They observe. And they translate what they learn into strategy.<\/li><li>Interview potential stakeholders, too. That includes customers and others who are currently dealing with your competitors \u2014 but also those who interact with neither you nor your rivals.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 9 Thinking Long-Term in a Short-Term Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Make sure that you have a dynamic, constantly refreshed strategic \u201cvision\u201d for what your organization (or unit) will look like and achieve three to five years from now. I\u2019m not talking about a strategic plan, but rather a compelling picture of market \/ product, financial, operational, and organizational shifts over the next few years.<\/li><li>Long-term value, however, is not created in straight lines.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 10 The Future Is Scary. Creative Thinking Can Help<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Do three things.<ul><li>Understand How People Think<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Question Your Organization\u2019s Fundamental Beliefs<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Use \u201cProspective Thinking\u201d to Consider Key Trends and Disruptions<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Megatrends \u2014 large social, economic, political, environmental, or technological changes likely to have major impact across a wide range of areas<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 11 Zoom In, Zoom Out<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Zooming In: Close-in managers look for immediate benefits and make ad hoc decisions. They often favor one-on-one conversations over group meetings. They want to address details by doing whatever occurs to them.<\/li><li>The best leaders work the zoom button in both directions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SECTION FOUR Align Decisions with Strategic Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 12 Reflect on Your Actions and Choices<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Being more strategic requires only that you put even the smallest decisions in the context of the organization\u2019s broader goals.<\/li><li>Strategic people create connections between ideas, plans, and people that others fail to see.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 13 Seven Steps for Making Faster, Better Decisions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Each time you face a decision, use these steps as a tool to counteract your biases:<ul><li>Write down five preexisting company goals or priorities that will be impacted by the decision.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Write down at least three, but ideally four or more, realistic alternatives.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Write down the most important information you are missing<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Write down the impact your decision will have one year in the future.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Involve a team of at least two but no more than six stakeholders.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Write down what was decided, as well as why and how much the team supports the decision.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Schedule a decision follow-up in one to two months.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 14 How to Make Better Decisions with Less Data<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>We recommend the\u201d data DIET\u201d approach, which provides four steps of intentional thought to help convert data into knowledge and wisdom.<ul><li>Step 1: Define &#8211; How do you understand the problem? What are its causes? What assumptions does your team have? Write about the problem (without proposing solutions) from different perspectives \u2014 the customer, the supplier, and the competitor, for example \u2014 to see the situation in new ways. Ask yourself a simple question: If I collect the data, then how would my decision change? If the data won\u2019t change your decision, you don\u2019t need to track down the additional information.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Step 2: Integrate<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Step 3: Explore<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Step 4: Test &#8211; People under-collect disconfirming data.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SECTION FIVE Set Priorities and Manage Trade \u2013 Offs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 15 A Better Way to Set Strategic Priorities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A better way to establish priorities is to put rank ordering aside and return to first principles.<\/li><li>There are three interdependent variables that are essential for executing any initiative: objectives, resources, and timing.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 16 How to Prioritize When Your Manager Is Hands-Off<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Don\u2019t assume that prioritizing your workload is someone else\u2019s job<\/li><li>Consider your role today and answer the following questions:<ul><li>What is my highest contribution?<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>What am I passionate about?<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>If you don\u2019t prioritize your time, someone else will.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 17 Identify and Kill Outdated Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In his book The Three-Box Solution, Tuck School of Business professor Vijay Govindarajan introduces three \u201cboxes\u201d for allocating an organization\u2019s time, energy, and resources:<ul><li>Box 1: Manage the present by optimizing core businesses.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Box 2: Forget the past by letting go of the values and practices that have lost relevance.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Box 3: Create the future by inventing a new business model.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Create a process for winnowing large, medium, and small projects<\/li><li>Changing projects or processes that affect companywide strategic objectives instead requires a top-down approach.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 18 What to Do When Strategic Goals Conflict<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The goals that emerge from your strategy should not be implemented piecemeal, but instead need to be considered holistically, as part of an overall execution strategy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 19 Assess and Manage Trade-Offs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Think through the potential short-and long-term impacts of potential courses of action.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SECTION SIX Align Your Team Around Strategic Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 20 To Be a Strategic Leader, Ask the Right Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Strategy succeeds or fails based on how well leaders at every level of an organization integrate strategic thinking into day-to-day operations.<\/li><li>Make these five questions part of your ongoing dialogue,<ul><li>What Are We Doing Today?<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Why Are We Doing the Work We\u2019re Doing? Why Now?<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>How Does What We\u2019re Doing Today Align with the Bigger Picture?<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>What Does Success Look Like for Our Team?<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>What Else Could We Do to Achieve More, Better, Faster?<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 21 An Exercise to Get Your Team Thinking Differently About the Future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(no highlights in this chapter; the title says it all)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 22 Communicating a Corporate Vision to Your Team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(no highlights in this chapter; the title says it all)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SECTION SEVEN Move from Thinking Strategically to Executing the Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 23 Execution Is a People Problem, Not a Strategy Problem<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(no highlights in this chapter; the title says it all)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 24 How to Excel at Both Strategy and Execution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Are you very clear about how you add value to customers in a way that others don\u2019t, and about the specific capabilities that enable you to excel at that value proposition?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 25 How the Most Successful Teams Bridge the Strategy-to-Execution Gap<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>High-performing teams spend over 25 % more time focusing the enterprise than their lower-performing peers. That time is spent establishing financial and operational metrics, aligning goals with overarching strategy, allocating resources, and reviewing key metrics.<\/li><li>High-performing teams spend 14 % more time checking their progress against strategic goals by reviewing key metrics and shifting resources accordingly.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 26 Get Your Team to Do What It Says It\u2019s Going to Do<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(no highlights in this chapter; the title says it all)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SECTION EIGHT Navigate Strategic Thinking Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 27 When You Think the Strategy Is Wrong<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>An organization\u2019s strategy is often steeped in complex political issues. Before you speak up, try to understand the situation in which the strategy was developed.<\/li><li>\u201cGood enough strategy excellently implemented will trump a perfect strategy lukewarmly implemented nine times out of ten.\u201d<\/li><li>\u201cIs it that you would have expected a different direction or do you believe that the analysis, facts, or process that the company used [were] flawed?\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 28 When Your Boss Gives You Conflicting Messages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(no highlights in this chapter; the title says it all)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHAPTER 29 When the Strategy Is Unclear, in Flux, or Always Changing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The ability to thrive during periods of strategic uncertainty separates the great managers who go on to become exceptional leaders from the rest.<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically (HBR Guide Series) by Harvard Business Review INTRODUCTION Why Everyone Needs to Think Strategically Strategic thinking is about analyzing opportunities and problems from a broad perspective and understanding the potential impact your actions might have on the future of your organization, your team, or your bottom line. You gather complex, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- 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