The Forms of Poor Strategic Thinking
The past is
prescient
Misprojecting
meaning
Attachment
to a
comfort
zone
Discomfort
with the
new or
unknown
Minimizing
Unknown
Unknowns
The Costs of Poor Strategic Thinking
Organization/Person
Thought
Unhealthy Pattern/Costs
Lehman Brothers
The 2008 financial crisis
would be short term and
real estate prices would
turn around quickly.
Past is Prescient/
Bankruptcy in excess of
$100 billion, triggered
global banking crisis.
Merrill Lynch
Let’s copy Lehman’s
strategy, just do it bigger.
Mis-projecting
meaning/Company sold to
B of A at 1/10th of its peak
share price hit a few
months before, billions lost
by shareholders and
employees.
General Motors
High costs and low mileage Past is Prescient and
SUVs will sell forever.
Attachment to Comfort
Zone/ $50 billion gov’t
loan to stave off
bankruptcy
The Costs of Poor Strategic Thinking
Organization/Person
Thought
Unhealthy Pattern/Costs
Michele Obama’s first
college roommate
I don’t want a Black
roommate.
Discomfort with the
Unknown/ Could be best
friends with the First Lady
of the United States.
AT&T spurning offer from
government to own an
early form of the internet
What potential can it have Minimizing an Unknown
versus the phone business? Unknown/Anyone’s guess
The Past is Prescient
It looks like
something
we have
seen or
experienced
before
It is the
same as it
was before
(rate of
change
illusion)
It was
established
by persons
we respect
and honor
Mis-Projecting Meaning
It looks
like a
duck, so it
must be…
It made
me feel
like…
Sounds
like to me
that…
Attachment to a Comfort Zone
Comfortable
with those
“like us”
Comfortable
in familiar
places
Comfortable
with familiar
things
Attachment to a Comfort Zone
Comfort with a way of thinking—we often underestimate the
emotional context of our thinking
Emotionally
driven
thinking
Pure
intellectual
thinking
Body/Feltsense
thinking
Discomfort with the Unknown
Never
heard
of it
Never
thought
of it
Never
been
there
Never
tried it
Never
saw it
Minimizing Unknown Unknowns
There is still SO much more to learn!
Human relations
Bio-Science
History
Nature of the Universe
The Brain and Body Systems
Diverse Cultures
The Solution
See opportunity
Induce
Learning
Reduce
Risks
Open thinking
Take actions
Four Quantum Thinking Tools
Energy
A or B
Energy
False Duality
Particle/Wave
Point of Observation
Multiple views of reality
Energy
All is energy in
transition
The Four Quantum Ideas
The Science
The Idea
Use in thinking
Light has the properties to Avoid “apples versus
both a particle and a
oranges,” dualistic
wave.
thinking.
Bifurcation is generally
oversimplification. Seek
to understanding the
integrated whole.
The particle or wave
Your point of observation
properties of light are
determines what you see.
present based on how it is
being observed.
Resist attachment to your
point of view, be open to
multiple views.
Observing an electron
from different points of
view will give you
different probabilities of
its location.
Seek out and value
diverse points of view.
Many points of view of
the same event can be
valid.
Everything in the Universe Nothing and no one stays
is made of energy that is
the same. Change is
moving or changing form. constant.
Remain open to
continuous learning.
False Dualities Lead to Oversimplification
Negative
thinking
The metaphorical tree of the
knowledge of good versus evil—the
Primordial Error?
WISDOM
Positive
thinking
What is the larger truth?
False Dualities Lead to Oversimplification
This
Integrated whole
That
Believer
Enlightened
Non-believer
Smart
Multiple intelligences
Dumb
Red States
The United States
Blue States
Very often we can think and understand at greater depths if we go beyond the
opposites and think of the integrated whole. Hidden desires and our egos often
prevent this.
What you see depends on how you look at it
Is this cruelty to animals or a delicious meal?
Valid point of view of the same event
But, I thought you
were…
But, I thought you
were…
Multiple valid points of view
Our beliefs and assumptions play a big role.
The Very Nature of the Everything is
Change
Quantum-like Strategies-Apple Corp
Changing from Apple Computer to
Apple Corporation:
• Moved beyond the duality of Mac
versus PC to iPod, iPhone, and iPad
• The iPod, iPhone and iPad have
open and interconnecting aspects in
which others can provide services
and products
• By the open selection of apps, the
iPod and iPad are customizable to
allow a feature-rich consumer
experience.
Strategic Mis-step by Apple:
• Products are not designed for their
full environmental lifecycle.
The Core of Innovative Thinking
Imagination
Change looks odd at first.
It is outside the comfort zone.
Experimentation
Openness
Research
Risk-taking
Persistence
Continuous Innovation