Strategic Thinking in Action: A conversation with Steven Haines

Strategic Thinking in Action - Webinar
© Business Acumen Institute 1
www.business-acumen.com
© B usiness A cum en Institute
Strategic Thinking in Action
A Webinar from Business Acumen Institute – The Growth Capability Company
Steven Haines – Founder and CEO – Business Acumen Institute
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Business Acumen Institute
The Growth Capability Company
Business Acumen Institute works with companies
stuck at low single-digit growth to build the
organizational capabilities that translate strategy
into results.
business-acumen.com

ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.)
“The whole is more than the
sum of its parts.”
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BAI Resources
Self-
Assessment
Inside!
Self-
Assessment
Inside!

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Set-Up 1.0
Business Acumen Canvas
A visual model to view the multi-
faceted dimensions of business
acumen into focus – and where
strategic thinking fits
https://bit.ly/B-A-Canvas
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Reinforcing Loops: Everything is connected to everything.
Set-Up 2.0
Strategic Thinking Mental Architecture
5 Habits of
Strategic Thinkers
Systems
Thinking Lenses
Mindset
Shifts
Problem
Solving
Strategy
Formulation
1 2 3 4 5

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© B usiness A cum en Institute 7
Market Segments Customers Competitors Sectors/Industries
Business Model Value Proposition/Positioning Distribution Channels Global/Market Extension
Strategic Thinking Relationship Building Influencing
Driving Outcomes Storytelling Executive Presence
External
Mindset
Capabilities
Leading Teams &
Influencing People
Using Processes to
Get Work Done
Managing Projects to
Achieve Goals
Understanding
Products and Markets
Utilizing Finance
& Financial Analysis
Formulating Goals
& Strategies
Analyzing Data, Solving
Problems & Making Decisions
Assessing Business
Performance
5 Habits of
Strategic Thinkers
Systems
Thinking Lenses
Mindset
Shifts
Problem
Solving
Strategy
Formulation
1 2 3 4 5
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Main Topics
1
2
3
4
Business acumen and strategic thinking
Introduction to strategic thinking
High–level: strategic thinking mental architecture
Strategic thinking mental architecture explained

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Benefits for You
• Spot patterns others miss by
connecting dots across different
business areas
• See how everything connects and
predict ripple effects before they
happen
• Ask better questions that uncover
insights instead of confirming what
you know
• Recognize problems worth
solving before they become
urgent crises
• Get to root causes instead of
just treating symptoms
• Balance short-term needs with
long-term impact
• Make confident decisions even
when you don't have all the
information
Learn To Think Differently What You’ll Be Able To Do
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Why do you need to change your thinking?
• Be able to understand how different things
connect
• Fine tune your curiosity
• Identify and solve the right problems
• Make better decisions
• Grow in your career
Additional Thoughts
”Thinking is hard work….” Albert Einstein

© S equent Learning N etw orks
Business Acumen
A Vital Capability for Strategic Thinkers
Module 1
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What is
Business
Acumen?
The Business
Acumen
Handbook
Everything You Need to
Know to Succeed in the
Corporate World
S T E V E N H A I N E S
AUTHOR OF THE PRODUCT
MANAGER’S DESK REFERENCE

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Business acumen is a portfolio
of skills, behaviors, and
capabilities needed to support
an organization in the
achievement of its financial
and strategic goals
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A blank canvas

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t

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Strategic Thinking Connects to Everything!
Strategic thinking is the cognitive foundation that makes all other business acumen capabilities more powerful
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A visual model to view the multi-
faceted dimensions of business
acumen into focus – and where
strategic thinking fits
GET THE CANVAS. https://bit.ly/B-A-Canvas

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External
Mindset
Capabilities
Leading Teams &
Influencing People
Using Processes to
Get Work Done
Achieve Goals
Understanding
Utilizing Finance
Formulating Goals
& Strategies
Assessing Business
Performance
5 Habits of
Strategic Thinkers
Systems
Thinking Lenses
Mindset
Shifts
Problem
Solving
Strategy
Formulation
1 2 3 4 5
Introduction to Strategic
Thinking
Module 2

© Business Acum en Institute
Have been advised to
think more strategically?
Why?
What is strategic thinking?

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Strategic thinking is a mental process used to make
sense of dynamic data, disparate observations, and
other information to expose linkages or patterns, to
establish meaningful goals, determine appropriate
courses of action, and continuously refine
implementation through metric-driven feedback, all
operating across varying time horizons.
From: Strategic Thinking in Action by Steven Haines
Strategic Thinking Defined
• Mental process
• Make sense of dynamic data or
observations
• Expose linkages or patterns
• Establish meaningful goals
• Define a course of action
• Refine based on metric-driven
feedback
• Operate across time horizons
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Strategic Thinking vs. Strategic Planning

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Strategic Thinking vs. Strategic Planning
Strategic planning
• A periodic event (year/quarter)
• Gather data, set goals, create initiatives,
allocate budgets
Strategic thinking
• Continuous mental process
• Making sense of dynamic data, spotting
patterns, solve problems, etc.
• You can't formulate strategies
without strategic thinking
• Strategic planning creates
documents and artifacts
• Strategic thinking creates the
insights that make those
documents work in the real
world
How does critical thinking
fit with strategic
thinking?

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“Critical thinking is thinking about
your thinking while you're thinking
in order to make your thinking
better."
“Critical thinking is thinking that
analyzes thought, that assesses
thought, and that transforms
thought for the better.”
From (late) Richard W. Paul (Center for
Critical Thinking)
Strategic Thinking and Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is the engine that
drives effective strategic thinking.
It’s the skill of questioning assumptions, analyzing
information and evaluating alternatives before
making decisions.
When we strategize, critical thinking
helps us:
• Avoid blind spots
• Anticipate obstacles
• Build plans that stand up to real-world
challenges.
For You to Think About
Why do smart, capable people struggle with
strategic thinking, even when they work in
organizations with lots of data?
They don’t understand the key building
blocks (mental architecture) that help
people think strategically

High-Level View of the Strategic
Thinking Mental Architecture
Module 2
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A conceptual blueprint of the mind’s
functional organization
A network of mental processes
• Modular (systems/sub-systems)
• Cognitive information processing
Mental Architecture

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External
Mindset
Capabilities
Leading Teams &
Influencing People
Using Processes to
Get Work Done
Achieve Goals
Understanding
Utilizing Finance
Formulating Goals
& Strategies
Assessing Business
Performance
Five interconnected clusters of competence that comprise strategic thinking
5 Habits of
Strategic Thinkers
Systems
Thinking Lenses
Mindset
Shifts
Problem
Solving
Strategy
Formulation
1 2 3 4 5
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5 Habits of
Strategic Thinkers
Systems
Thinking Lenses
Mindset
Shifts
Problem
Solving
Strategy
Formulation
1 2 3 4 5

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5 Habits of
Strategic Thinkers
Systems
Thinking Lenses
Mindset
Shifts
Problem
Solving
Strategy
Formulation
1. Ask better questions
2. Recognize patterns
3. Zoom in – zoom out
4. Learning mindset
5. Time horizons
1. Connection lens
2. Feedback lens
3. Time lens
4. Assumption lens
5. Leverage lens
1. I know to I’m learning
2. Best practice to best
for the situation
3. Control outcomes to
influence conditions
1. Step 0 – problem
recognition
2. Cross-functional
collaboration
3. Analyze root causes
4. Make decisions
1. Beyond process to
strategic intelligence
2. Dynamic baseline
3. State of the system
4. Work backwards
5. AI pattern recognition
1 2 3 4 5
22 tools you can use to improve your capability as a strategic thinker
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Perceptual
Sharpeners
Amplifier 1:
Analyze
Connections
Amplifier 2:
Recalibrate
Thinking
Amplifier 3:
Pivot to
Strategic Impact
Influence Strategic
Direction
5 Habits of
Strategic Thinkers
Systems
Thinking Lenses
Mindset
Shifts
Problem
Solving
Strategy
Formulation
4. Learning mindset
5. Time horizons
1. Connection lens
2. Feedback lens
3. Time lens
4. Assumption lens
5. Leverage lens
for the situation
recognition
2. Problem-solving
process
3. Dealing with
uncertainty
2. Dynamic baseline
4. Work backwards
1 2 3 4 5

Strategic Thinking Mental
Architecture - Explained
Module 3
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Perceptual
Sharpeners
Amplifier 1:
Analyze
Connections
Amplifier 2:
Recalibrate
Thinking
Amplifier 3:
Pivot to
Strategic Impact
Influence Strategic
Direction
5 Habits of
Strategic Thinkers
Systems
Thinking Lenses
Mindset
Shifts
Problem
Solving
Strategy
Formulation
4. Learning mindset
5. Time horizons
1. Connection lens
2. Feedback lens
3. Time lens
4. Assumption lens
5. Leverage lens
for the situation
recognition
2. Problem-solving
process
3. Dealing with
uncertainty
2. Dynamic baseline
4. Work backwards
1 2 3 4 5

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What to do: Collect data
• Set up your radar to continually scan
• Internal (operational, financial)
• External (customer, competitor)
• Qualitative (observational, research)
• Quantitative (financial, KPIs)
Why?
• Curiosity helps build perceptual sharpness
• Engage with others to expand your field of view
• Broaden your perspective beyond the day-to-day
• Improve your ability to observe, assess, and reflect
5 Habits: Perceptual Sharpeners
To be covered in Module 2 – 5 Habits
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What to do: Examine and study
• Spot connections
• Surface influencing forces
• Look across functional silos
• Make the system visible
• Distinguish symptoms from causes
Why?
• Uncover the factors that led to the issue
• Determine unintended contributors
• Various relationships or dynamics may have
obscured the nature of the problem
Amplifier 1: Analyze Connections
Using Systems Thinking Lenses

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What: Make sense of what you found
• Move from raw data to insight
• Spot what’s underneath the noise
• Connect the dots
• Identify root causes
• Distill complexity into a clear story
Why?
• Need a working hypothesis to move forward
• Keep from solving the wrong problem
• Clarifies what’s at stake
Amplifier 2: Recalibrate Thinking
Mindset shifts
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What: Bring it all together
• Synthesize data, insights, and observations
• Weave insights into cohesive stories
• Highlight viable options or actions
• Evaluate implications for each option
Why?
• Clarify what’s important
• Align others around solutions
• Ensure that the optimal decision can be made (not deciding
just yet, but getting close)
Amplifier 3: Pivot to Strategic Impact
Recognizing and solving problems

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What: Choose a path to execute
• Align with company strategy
• Choose options that balance risk and impact
• Identify actions and owners
• Communicate decisions to inspire alignment
Why?
• Enable faster, more confident action
• Motivate others to take responsibility
• Turn analysis into momentum
• Build credibility by following through
Influence Strategic Direction
Strategy formulation
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What Could You Do?
Ask better questions:
Use systems thinking:
Shift your mindset:
Find and solve problems:
Influence your company’s strategy:

If you’re interested in the complete online course,
Strategic Thinking in Action (with certification) use the
QR code or bit link to sign up. It’s only USD $99
https://bit.ly/4rbiMoV
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Join the Cambridge PM
WhatsApp Community

Thank You!
Questions?
Reach out for strategic thinking training classes
www.business–acumen.com
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Business Acumen Institute
Other Courses from BAI
• Business Acumen Essentials
• Fundamentals of Strategic Thinking
• Business Acumen for Project Managers and IT Professionals
• Introduction to Product Management
• How to Create a Winning Strategy
• How to Create a Business Case
• How to Earn Influence

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Thank you and best of luck to you!
business-acumen.com

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Strategic Thinking in Action: A conversation with Steven Haines