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Greg Githens is the author of How to Think Strategically (2019). He is a recognized thought leader in designing and delivering strategic initiatives.-
Read these recent articles
- The Skills Stack for Resilience
- Five tips for speaking truth to power
- Better Conversations Generate Better Strategy
- Insights Are the Secret Sauce of Strategy
- How a Strategic Decision Differs From a Tactical Decision
- Unlearning, learning, and a culture of strategic thinking
- How Mapping Can Improve Your Strategic Thinking
- How to Measure Business Acumen
- Strategy Execution as a Learning Process
- Why I favor a mental stance of disorder
- Critical Asking
- Transcending the Status Quo
- Connecting Strategy to Execution
- Complexity: Four Principles for Program Managers
- Use the PAVER Framework to Assure Strategic Commitments
- Strategic Experiments & Agile Responses
- Avoiding Four Pitfalls of Rapid Growth
- Operational Excellence or Strategic Excellence?
- Design Thinking: Five Landmarks for Strategic Initiatives
- Seven Must-Do’s for Better Strategy Execution
- Strategy as Problem Solving: An Example from a Large Technology Organization.
- Five Mental Anchors that Impede Your Strategic Initiative
- Five Must-Know Patterns of Disruption
- Beginners Guide: Competent Strategic Initiatives
- Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, & Ambiguity (VUCA)
- Four Recommendations for Effective Program Governance
- Six Strategic Thinking Skills: Developing the Proactiveness Habit
- What’s the #Strategy? Let Me Tell You a #Story
- Benefits of Being a Visible Expert
- Strategy is Not Long-Range Planning, Vision, Mission, or Values
- Five Ways to Involve Smart New Voices in the Strategy & Agile Innovation Conversation
- Is it Possible to Have a Perfect Strategy?
- Facilitating the Business Model Canvas: A Few Lessons Learned (Part 1)
- Designing Strategic Initiatives for Results: The Two Kinds of Coherence
- Perspective is More Powerful than Vision
- The Real Reason Strategy Implementation is Difficult (and the Solution to It)
- Grasping Essentials When You’re NOT the Expert
Talk to the Expert
Need a strategic planning facilitator, implementation coach, neutral mediator, workshop, seminar, or hands-on program manager? Greg Githens provides coaching, workshops, hands-on, and more. Contact him at GregoryDGithens@cs.com or 419.424.1164Categories
- Ambiguity and Strong-Minded Thinking
- Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders
- Examples of Strategic Initiatives
- How to Improve Your Story Telling Chops
- Incremental Benefits Delivery
- Interpreting Strategy Documents
- Program & Portfolio Management
- Strategic Planning Issues for Strategic Initiatives
- Strategy
- Strategy Coaching and Facilitation
- Strategy, Ambiguity, and Strong-Minded Thinking
- Success Principles for Strategic Initiatives
- Transforming the Organization
- Uncategorized
- Useful Practices & Management Tools
Tag Archives: strategic thinking
The Strategic Initiative Leader: The #1 Success Factor!
Greg Githens relates his advice to a CEO determined to succeed at a strategic initiative: recruit a capable program manager. He explains that the capable person provides leverage: for example, shaping and influencing the vision and strategy, managing interfaces with other groups, attracting/negotiating resources, etc. He explains the competencies and characteristics of a strategic initiative program manager; they have strengths in strategic thinking, matched by use of leadership skills, determination, and a commitment to a vision. Continue reading
Posted in Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Strategy Coaching and Facilitation, Success Principles for Strategic Initiatives
Tagged Chief information officer, Critical thinking, program management, Program Manager, Strategic initiative, Strategic management, strategic thinking
7 Comments
Path Finding and Way Finding
Path finding for a strategic initiative is composed of the activities of pattern searching, sense making, and nudging. It is a straightforward method for addressing strategic complexity. Greg Githens first provides the analogy of path finding through a forest, and then briefly illustrates with examples from Google, Wal-Mart, and Domino’s Pizza. Please provide comments. Continue reading
Posted in Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Strategy Coaching and Facilitation, Success Principles for Strategic Initiatives, Useful Practices & Management Tools
Tagged ambiguity, Decision making, Pathfinding, Project management, Stakeholder (corporate), Strategic initiative, Strategic management, strategic thinking, strategy execution
6 Comments
Five Rules for Managing Complex Strategic Initiatives
Complex strategic initiatives operate in un-ordered environments. Greg offers 5 rules: manage initial (starting) conditions, broaden the involvement of stake holders, dissent strengthens the strategy, increase learning with rapid experimentation, and monitor for emergence. Continue reading
Posted in Ambiguity and Strong-Minded Thinking, Strategic Planning Issues for Strategic Initiatives, Strategy, Success Principles for Strategic Initiatives
Tagged Agile project management, Complexity management, fast decisions, Stakeholder management, strategic initiatives, Strategic management, strategic thinking
10 Comments
A Master List of Questions for Strategic Initiatives
More than 80 good questions for leaders of strategic initiatives, provided by Greg Githens, who notes that “leaders lead by asking questions.” These questions are categorized: strategic path finding; betterment of risk, issues, and decisions; and elaborating requirements, solution design, and value propositions. Continue reading
Posted in Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Useful Practices & Management Tools
Tagged ambiguity, Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Decision making, leading strategic initiatives, questions, strategic initiatives, Strategic Planning Issues for Strategic Initiatives, strategic thinking
3 Comments
How to Be Strong Minded (3 Capabilities and 5 Tips for Strategic Thinking)
Strong minds produce strong ideas. Strong minds do not fail. Strong minded thinkers have three competencies: 1) they are good a probing and sensing, 2) they imagine the logical future consequences of decisions and actions, and 3) they look for opportunities to apply ingenuity. The article provides practical questions that will help the reader develop these competencies. The article also provides five tips for robustness: avoid mistakes, develop emotional resiliency, reflect, and generate alternative solutions. Continue reading
Strategic Initiative Case Study: Delivering Large Cost Savings in Healthcare IT Infrastructure
How a manager saw an opportunity to align his work with executive vision for IT cost savings, and drove significant benefits through a large healthcare organization. Summarizes value of elevator speech, key actions, team building, managing around a boss, and incremental benefits delivery. Continue reading
Posted in Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Examples of Strategic Initiatives, Transforming the Organization
Tagged Business transformation, case study, elevator speech, health care, Information technology management, IT infrastructure, Kaiser Permanente, Leadership, program management, strategic initiatives, Strategic management, strategic thinking, transformation, vision
4 Comments
How to Build Consensus in the Strategic Initiatives Team
Consensus is a vital skill for strategic initiatives. Consensus means that there is 100% agreement to support the IMPLEMENTATION of the decision. Greg Githens explains the two necessary factors for achieving consensus (define the team and have a visible signal) and describes a personal experience in helping an IT group reach agreement on requirements. Continue reading
Resolving Ambiguity and Uncertainty (Strategic Thinking – Part 4)
Strategic initiatives leaders must understand the difference between ambiguity and uncertainty. Uncertainty deals with explicit questions, whereas ambiguity raises the point, “Are we asking the right questions?” Both are useful concepts, and strategic thinkers have tools (most importantly, questions) for dealing with both. This article continues a series on strategic thinking. Continue reading
Posted in Competencies of Strategic Initiative Leaders, Strategic Planning Issues for Strategic Initiatives, Success Principles for Strategic Initiatives
Tagged ambiguity, analysis paralysis, cone of uncertainty, Decision making, explicit model, fast decisions, Motorola, risk management, Strategic initiative, strategic initiatives, Strategic Planning Issues for Strategic Initiatives, strategic thinking, uncertainty
9 Comments
Fast and Effective Decisions Drive the Strategic Initiative
Fast and effective decisions drive the strategic initiative program. Greg Githens provides useful ideas for making faster and better decisions. Continue reading
Posted in Strategy Coaching and Facilitation, Success Principles for Strategic Initiatives, Useful Practices & Management Tools
Tagged agenda, Decision making, Decision tree, fast decisions, management tools, meetings, Problem Solving, program management, Strategic initiative, strategic mindset, strategic thinking, strategy execution, teams
5 Comments
Leading Strategic Initiatives 