Why Some Companies Grow Amid Uncertainty — and Others Don’t
Harvard Business Review
MARCH 25, 2024
A survey of 3,000 global executives suggests that it’s not strategic thinking that sets them apart. It’s their inclination to move quickly.
Strategic Thinking Exercise – Switch the Characters Around
BrainZooming
OCTOBER 7, 2016
We frequently facilitate a strategic thinking exercise that uses a character outside a situation as the perspective. There’s no guarantee this strategic thinking exercise works in every situation. After you identify the “characters” in a particular situation, completely shift their roles. Mike Brown.
Join 34,000+
Insiders
Sign Up for our Newsletter
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Webinars
Peak Performance: Continuous Testing & Evaluation of LLM-Based Applications
How Automation is Driving Efficiency Through the Last Mile of Reporting
How Retailers Are Transforming Customer Experiences with Data & AI
Manufacturing Sustainability Surge: Your Guide to Data-Driven Energy Optimization & Decarbonization
Trending Sources
Strategic Thinking Exercise: What’s Missing in what Your Brand Offers?
BrainZooming
SEPTEMBER 17, 2018
At an Idea Magnets workshop, we shared a strategic thinking exercise we call Rock-Paper-Scissors. We employ it to categorize what your company or department is currently offering based on: Things that add incredible value for your audience. Ask a client: If you were running our company / department, what would you be doing ?
Webinars
Peak Performance: Continuous Testing & Evaluation of LLM-Based Applications
How Automation is Driving Efficiency Through the Last Mile of Reporting
How Retailers Are Transforming Customer Experiences with Data & AI
Manufacturing Sustainability Surge: Your Guide to Data-Driven Energy Optimization & Decarbonization
5 Strategic Thinking Questions to Start Reimagining the OrganizationÂ
BrainZooming
FEBRUARY 15, 2017
How, if you are facing this situation, can you initiate a conversation with strategic thinking questions safe enough to raise the issue? 5 Strategic Thinking Questions to Start Reimagining the Organization. Mike Brown. Need Fresh Insights to Drive Your Strategy? Download our FREE eBook: Reimagining the SWOT Analysis.
Strategic Thinking Exercise – 17 Questions to Find Innovation Case Studies
BrainZooming
MAY 19, 2016
I’ve lost count of how many times I have heard business people say and then try to explain why their particular companies are unique. By this, they typically mean there is no possibility any other company faces the same types of challenges and operational issues they deal with daily. Who are our strategic partners?
Case Study 
89
89 
Why Strategy Simulation Is a Powerful Strategic Thinking and Strategy Development Tool?
Ankush Chopra
JULY 16, 2020
Strategy simulation is a powerful method in developing strategy as well as in teaching strategic thinking. In this article, I explain strategy simulation and how it can benefit your organization in teaching strategic thinking as well as in building strategy alignment. What is a Simulation?
16 Strategic Thinking Exercises Ready to Go for You Right Now!
BrainZooming
JANUARY 10, 2018
Since The Brainzooming Group launched, we have developed many strategic thinking exercises and models applying our methodology to diverse clients and business situations. We are further along and can even more easily customize these strategic thinking exercises to your needs if you face comparable situations. The result?
4 Strategic Thinking Exercises to Envision Future Strategy
BrainZooming
AUGUST 28, 2017
How can you develop strategic thinking exercises to envision the future when it’s so easy to let previous experience cloud your imagination? Under that scenario, you say ‘Where is the new company that’s doing EV charging on street corners or in my highway entrance? ” Yes, the role is different.
Branding Strategy – A Strategic Thinking Question to Add New Value
BrainZooming
APRIL 19, 2017
Other than dropping price, in what ways can you adapt your branding strategy to boost the benefits and reduce the costs (be they financial or non-financial) of having your company as a provider? Think about this opportunity if you’re a vehicle graphics company. That’s a huge question.
Unleash Your Teams Strategic Potential: 10 Ways to Craft the Best Business Strategies
Leapfrogging
MARCH 15, 2024
Introduction to Strategic Thinking in Business The Importance of Strategy in a Disruptive World In today’s business environment, disruption is the new norm. With technology advancing at breakneck speeds and market dynamics shifting unpredictably, it’s crucial for you as a business leader to embrace strategic thinking.
Strategic Thinking – 16 Ideas for Creating an Entrepreneurial Environment Inside Your Company
BrainZooming
MAY 6, 2016
At the 2016 Brand Strategy Conference, Antonia Dean, Director РMarketing, Brand Development, & Strategy at The Est̩e Lauder Companies covered the strategic thinking ideas behind creating an entrepreneurial environment in a large company. Building the Team. Not sure what the right marketing language is?
Strategic Thinking Exercises – 3 Responses to New Ideas
BrainZooming
APRIL 5, 2016
In my corporate days, I was dispatched to work with competitive companies our corporation purchased. The objective was to help them become better strategic thinkers and marketers. Since all the companies competed with one another, each one needed to determine its own business strategies.
Strategic Thinking – Job Descriptions Don’t Define Innovation Potential
BrainZooming
APRIL 20, 2016
It’s a high volume, high expectation, and deadline-focused role critical to the company’s success. The company positions the team in a tactical, critical path role that would suffer with needless distractions. I asked them to engage in some strategic thinking about innovation opportunities for the company.
Strategic Thinking Exercise – Use a New SWOT Nobody Expects
BrainZooming
OCTOBER 10, 2016
Here is a way you can turn a typical strategic thinking exercise into something new and fun that both adds variety to your strategy meeting AND could trigger some new ideas to get our strategy out of a rut! In many companies, the list of items on the SWOT analysis does not change all that much from one year to the next.
Strategic Thinking Workshop Success – Beware Too Much Creativity
BrainZooming
APRIL 15, 2016
Interestingly, the most challenging situation for Brainzooming strategic thinking workshop success is when it includes TOO MANY individuals viewing themselves as creative. Talking with someone about the most difficult Brainzooming strategic thinking workshop EVER inspired the blurb below. Yes, you read that right.
Creative Thinking – 13 Unexpected Benefits of a Strategic Thinking Workshop
BrainZooming
JUNE 8, 2016
It’s always incredible to work directly with Brainzooming blog readers in supporting their companies’ innovation strategy objectives. Last week, we presented a creative and strategic thinking workshop for a Brainzooming reader who leads the national sales division of a global industrial manufacturer.
Agile Strategy – 16 Strategic Thinking Questions to Explore Disruptive Innovation
BrainZooming
MARCH 30, 2017
Along with the recap, Inside the Executive Suite offered sixteen strategic thinking questions inspired by the Fanatics case study that you can use to explore agile strategy options within your own organization. We thought the list was intriguing, so we secured the go ahead to share the strategic thinking questions with you here.
Strategic Thinking – 4 Strategies for Successful Remote Collaboration
BrainZooming
MARCH 30, 2016
Strategic Thinking – 4 Strategies for Successful Remote Collaboration. What Do You Think? We suggest answering these strategic thinking questions to improve clarity: Do you like learning the main point immediately (with details to follow) when someone delivers a recommendation? I Can’t See You!
16 Creative Thinking Questions from the Most Innovative Companies
BrainZooming
FEBRUARY 26, 2018
The 2018 Fast Company Most Innovative Companies issue arrived Saturday. It’s always a wonderful inspiration for strategic and creative thinking questions (plus it’s exciting that we have a current client among the companies recognized). 16 Creative Thinking Questions from the Most Innovative Companies.
Strategic Thinking Exercises – 11 Things Running through a Facilitator’s Head
BrainZooming
DECEMBER 9, 2015
We facilitated a two-day innovation strategy workshop for an industrial company. The company wants to make significant changes to a major production process. From a facilitation standpoint, it was the most arduous couple of days of going through strategic thinking exercises I recall.
Strategic Thinking on 4 Years of Hoping and Praying
BrainZooming
JANUARY 20, 2017
Pick your position, do your strategic thinking, and start creating positive change — today! – Mike Brown. Related posts Praying for Creativity Strategic Living – Integrating Spiritual and Business Lives as an Entrepreneur C-Level Executives and Ethical Missteps – W W WYTYATHTYCEO D?
Strategic Thinking Exercises – Why Do We Give Away So Much for Free?
BrainZooming
OCTOBER 6, 2015
We, however, routinely share how we do things via our methodology, tools, and learnings from Brainzooming strategic thinking workshops. Why Do We Give Away So Many Strategic Thinking Exercises? Strategic Thinking – Exercises and Tools for Creative Thinking and Strategy. What to Blog About?
3 Stumbling Blocks that Prevent Managers from Being Strategic
CMOE
MARCH 31, 2022
Strategic thinking has become one of the most valued skills in managers, and many organizations know that strategic thinking is integral to their success. Unfortunately, managers often run into challenges that prevent them from engaging in strategic thought and action with consistency and regularity.
Management 98
98 
Supercharge Your Strategy: The Power of Facilitating Strategic Planning Offsites
Leapfrogging
APRIL 4, 2024
Alignment on Vision and Goals : Time spent together allows for robust discussions, ensuring everyone is aligned with the company’s vision and strategic goals. Choose an Appropriate Venue : The location should be conducive to strategic thinking and free from interruptions. Objectives should be S.M.A.R.T
Strategy 100
100 
Chip Conley Discusses the Impacts of COVID-19 & Evolving Technology on the Modern Hotelier
Business and Tech
AUGUST 26, 2021
” I’ve used this exercise both in my boutique hotel company, Joie de Vivre, as well as at Airbnb. Sometimes, we have to get back to the essence of why we’re in business. A question every hospitality leader should ask themselves is this, “What business are we in?”
Technology 246
246 
The Universality of Leadership: Challenging Industry-Specific Biases
Tullio Siragusa
AUGUST 14, 2023
Vision and Strategic Thinking The Universal Need for Direction: Regardless of the industry, every organization seeks a brighter future. Their strategic thinking ensures that actions taken today align with a brighter tomorrow. When he took the reins at Ford in 2006, the company was facing dire financial straits.
Leadership 118
118 
3 Questions When the Innovation Strategy ROI Doesn’t Satisfy the Boss
BrainZooming
JUNE 21, 2017
Download: FREE Innovation Strategic Thinking Fake Book. This new ebook features sixteen strategic thinking exercises to help you ideate, prioritize, and develop your best innovative growth ideas. Learn and rapidly deploy effective strategic thinking exercises to spur innovation.
Strategy 117
117 Crafting the Path to Success: Designing Leadership Team Offsites for Strategic Planning Triumph
Leapfrogging
APRIL 4, 2024
These retreats are not merely a change of scenery but a strategic move to foster innovation and alignment among the top decision-makers of your company. They present an opportunity for you to reassess the company’s direction, realign with the core values, and ensure that every leader is committed to a shared vision.
4 Ways to Turn Open-Ended Comments into Fresh Insights
BrainZooming
FEBRUARY 22, 2020
An internal consultant at a healthcare company asked about ways to add value to many open-ended comments using a group strategic thinking exercise. Her sense was that the sameness every year caused them to overlook fresh insights that a new strategic thinking exercise would reveal. Why was she asking?
Exercises 59
59 
Qmarkets forms Strategic Partnership with Multinational Digital Services Company
Qmarkets
APRIL 9, 2019
RocketSource will include Qmarkets software as a recommended resource within their LevelNext MasterClass – a premium innovation and transformation workshop for forward-thinking organizations. The post Qmarkets forms Strategic Partnership with Multinational Digital Services Company appeared first on Qmarkets.
Company 40
40 
1 Way to Spice Up Strategy with Surprising Strategic Planning Questions
BrainZooming
NOVEMBER 16, 2017
Conventional wisdom is especially prized by executives with tenure and experience in one industry, company, and/or discipline. Strategic Planning Questions that Create Surprise. That’s where unusual strategic thinking questions provide an element of surprise when developing strategy.
Strategy 76
76 
A Vital Change Management Strategy Role: Sharing an Innovation Vocabulary
BrainZooming
NOVEMBER 13, 2017
As we worked on strategic thinking exercises to explore the company’s future vision and user experience, the change management strategy vocabulary the group used was conventional, unemotional, and lacking innovative thinking.
Strategy 93
93 
14 Innovation Theme Candidates: If 2020 Were the Year of. ?
BrainZooming
FEBRUARY 25, 2019
Reviewing the Fast Company World’s Most Innovative Companies issue suggested fourteen potential innovation themes based on the strategies the magazine reported. Based on this list, think ahead: What you would do NOW to prepare if 2020 were going to be the year of. Selecting Your Organization’s Innovation Theme.
eBook 99
99 
The Value of E-Learning and CMOE’s Top 5 Trending Courses
CMOE
JULY 27, 2022
40 percent of Fortune 500 companies use LMS extensively to remain competitive. Applied Strategic Thinking®. Find a balance between meeting today’s expectations and requirements and reaching for tomorrow’s possibilities by thinking and acting in a strategic way. It’s no wonder that.
Course 52
52 How Much Do You Love Free, Fun Strategic Planning Advice?
BrainZooming
FEBRUARY 21, 2018
Fun Strategic Planning Exercises – 6 Last-Minute Creative Ideas. Free Strategic Planning Exercises – 5 Warnings. Strategic Thinking Exercises – Strategic Planning for a Troubled Company. Strategic Thinking Exercise – Black Swan Events in Your Plan. Brainzooming – First Questions.
The 10 Vital Areas to Focus on Right Now
BrainZooming
MARCH 31, 2020
That recommendation came from my own experience at a transportation company where I’d inherited the marketing department during a labor strike. In a recent post, I mentioned a labor strike as a productive analogy for developing strategies during this time of global disruption.
Innovation on Steroids: Next Generation AI-Powered Phases and Gates
Leapfrogging
MARCH 19, 2024
The Intersection of AI and Innovation Phases and Gates The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the well-established phases and gates model of innovation management is revolutionizing how companies approach product development. By incorporating AI, companies can: Increase the accuracy of decision-making at each gate.
Generative AI 113
113 Pursuing a B2B Innovation Strategy for the User’s Benefit
BrainZooming
MARCH 7, 2018
While the organization has extensive insights into its intermediaries, we oriented many of the innovation strategy exercises toward the ways the people using their product experience (or don’t) what the company manufactures. Rapidly deploy effective strategic thinking exercises to spur innovation.
Strategy 72
72 
Powering Up Your Strategy: Success Factors for Executive Team Offsites
Leapfrogging
APRIL 4, 2024
For example, if your team is heavy on big-picture thinkers, include activities that focus on detailed action planning to complement their strategic visions. Conversely, if your team excels in operational details, encourage activities that stretch their strategic thinking.
Strategy 130
130 19 Options to Accelerate Your Innovation Strategy
BrainZooming
AUGUST 10, 2018
Strategic Thinking Exercises – 8 Ideas for Brand Innovation. Strategic Thinking – What Kind of Perfection Are You Looking For? Strategic Thinking Lessons – Keeping Your Company Fresh. 16 Ideas for Creating an Entrepreneurial Environment Inside Your Company. Sharing an Innovation Vocabulary.
Strategy 45
45 9 Areas to Tune-Up Your Brand Strategy for Peak Performance
BrainZooming
NOVEMBER 2, 2017
Strategic Thinking Exercises – 5 Questions to Test Your Vision Statement Impact . Blog Topic Ideas – Social Media Content Strategy for a Large B2B Company . Strategic Thinking Exercises – Where Does Your Brand Live? . How to Brand a Company – 7 Types of Brand Language You Should Use .
Strategy 71
71 12 Resources to Lead a Strategic Planning Process When You’re New
BrainZooming
JUNE 29, 2017
While leading strategy development in a new company poses challenges (including needing to learn a tremendous amount as you go), it has a comparable number of advantages (Including not laboring under preconceived ideas about how the organization does things). Getting to What Is Strategic. What Is Strategic and What Isn’t?
Resources 86
86 Data-driven or insights inspired?
Jeffrey Phillips
OCTOBER 21, 2019
The problem with data Being data driven at an operational level will become a necessity, because most companies will want to eliminate inefficiencies and cut costs. In other words, simply having data can't and won't make your organization a "data driven" company.
Data 125
125 Unlocking Organizational Potential: Developing Executive Leadership for Culture Change
Leapfrogging
APRIL 3, 2024
Understanding organizational culture is crucial for leaders looking to steer their companies in the right direction. Culture is shaped by a variety of factors, including the company’s mission, leadership styles, policies, work environment, and the behavior modeled by those at the top.
Let's personalize your content