Strategic Thinking: Student Workbook
Course Overview
This workbook develops your strategic thinking capability through frameworks, exercises, and reflection. Work through these during the seminar and use them afterward to approach your strategic challenges more systematically.
Module 1: Strategic Thinking Foundations
Your Strategic Thinking Assessment
How would you describe your current strategic thinking capability?
☐ Highly developed - I'm known for strategic insight
☐ Developing - I think strategically sometimes
☐ Emerging - I'm learning to think this way
☐ Early stage - This is new for me
What's your biggest strategic thinking strength?
What's your biggest strategic thinking challenge?
Rate your capability on each dimension:
| Dimension | Rating (1-5) | Development Area |
|---|---|---|
| Seeing systems and interconnections | ☐☐☐☐☐ | |
| Thinking long-term vs. near-term | ☐☐☐☐☐ | |
| Anticipating change | ☐☐☐☐☐ | |
| Connecting information from diverse sources | ☐☐☐☐☐ | |
| Critical thinking/challenging assumptions | ☐☐☐☐☐ | |
| Pattern recognition | ☐☐☐☐☐ |
Module 2: Systems Thinking
System Mapping Exercise
System: _____________________________________________________________
Key Components: (What are the main parts of this system?)
How they interact: (Draw arrows showing how each affects others)
Feedback Loops Analysis
Reinforcing Loop (Self-Amplifying - What could create positive momentum?)
... and the positive cycle continues
How to get this loop started:
Balancing Loop (Where is the system resisting change?)
... and the system resists further change
How to account for this resistance:
Unintended Consequences Assessment
Proposed Change: _____________________________________________________
Primary intended effect: ________________________________________________
Possible unintended consequences:
How to prevent or minimize them:
Lesson learned about system thinking:
Module 3: Futures Thinking and Scenario Planning
Horizon Scanning
Industry/Market: ______________________________________________________
Weak Signals I'm Noticing:
(Early indicators of change most people haven't noticed yet)
Technology:
Customer Behavior:
Competitive Moves:
Regulatory/Social:
Which weak signal concerns me most?
What should we do about it?
Scenario Planning Exercise
Strategic Question: ____________________________________________________
Key Uncertainties: (What will affect us but we can't predict?)
Scenario A: [Description of Scenario A]
What succeeds in this future?
What fails?
What capabilities matter most?
Scenario B: [Description of Scenario B]
What succeeds in this future?
What fails?
What capabilities matter most?
Scenario C: [Description of Scenario C]
What succeeds in this future?
What fails?
What capabilities matter most?
Robust Strategies
What strategies work across multiple scenarios?
What investments should we make now to be prepared?
How will we know which scenario is unfolding? (Early warning signs)
Module 4: Mental Models and Assumptions
Surfacing Your Mental Models
About your industry:
About your customers:
About your organization:
About competition:
Testing Mental Models
Mental Model #1: _____________________________________________________
What would prove this wrong?
What evidence do I have it's correct? ___________________________________
What evidence might contradict it?
How certain am I? (Rate 1-10): ________
Should I revise this thinking? ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Unsure
If yes, revised thinking:
Limiting Assumptions Exercise
Complete this sentence: "It's impossible for our organization to _____________ because _________"
What assumption underlies this?
Who/what would prove this assumption is wrong?
What would we do if this assumption WASN'T true?
Module 5: Strategic Conversation
Strategic Conversation Guide
Topic: _________________________________________________________________
Participants: ___________________________________________________________
Great Questions to Ask:
(Rather than stating your view, ask genuine inquiry questions)
- What am I missing about this situation?
- What would have to be true for [option] to work?
- What patterns from our past might apply here?
- What would our strongest competitor do?
- What would we do if we weren't afraid?
After Strategic Conversation - Reflection
What new insights emerged?
Where did we discover we were making assumptions?
What different direction might we take based on this conversation?
What action should we take?
Personal Development Planning
Your Strategic Thinking Commitment
One area where I want to improve my strategic thinking:
Specific action I'll take:
☐ Read a book on strategic thinking
☐ Conduct scenario planning for my major strategic question
☐ Start monthly strategic conversations with my team
☐ Surface and test three limiting assumptions
☐ Implement horizon scanning in my area
☐ Map systems in my organization to understand dynamics
☐ Other: _________________________________________________________
Timeline:
How I'll measure improvement:
Key Takeaways
Three most valuable insights from this course:
How this will change how I approach strategic challenges:
Resources for Continued Learning
Books:
- "Thinking in Systems: A Primer" by Donella H. Meadows
- "The Fifth Discipline" by Peter Senge
- "Playing to Win" by A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin
- "Good Strategy, Bad Strategy" by Richard Rumelt
Frameworks to Use:
- Scenario Planning Template
- System Mapping Template
- Horizon Scanning Checklist
- Strategic Conversation Question Guide
- Mental Model Testing Worksheet
Practices to Implement:
- Weekly horizon scanning in your area
- Monthly strategic conversation with your team
- Quarterly scenario review
- Annual mental model assessment and update
- Regular after-action reviews to extract strategic lessons