Showing posts with label strategic thinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strategic thinking. Show all posts

Strategic Thinking and the New Science: Planning in the Midst of Chaos Complexity and Change Review

Strategic Thinking and the New Science: Planning in the Midst of Chaos Complexity and Change
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Strategic Thinking and the New Science: Planning in the Midst of Chaos Complexity and Change ReviewMany years ago, in the late 80's, I read James Gleick's Chaos: Making a New Science book. I was not enlightened very much. A couple of years ago, I read Margaret Wheatley's Leadership & The New Science, and also A Simpler Way. I got a much better picture of the subject, and I began to take an earnest interest in the New Science. I read a few other authors' books but they did not strike a common chord with me, although they fueled my pursuit. I stumbled on to Irene Sanders' book by chance because of its cover title.
I was intrigued when I scanned the book index and found many interesting stuff: insight, foresight, geographic intelligence, Futurescape vs. Mindmap, imagery, new planning paradigm, new science, perking information, scenario building, thinking in pictures, visual models, whole-brain functioning, etc. All my kind of stuff.
I have read the book many times because of my deep personal interest in Strategic Thinking, and I have not been disappointed.
I love the author's break down of the Strategic Thinking process into two components:
- insight about the present; - foresight about the future;
and her argument that visual thinking stimulates both processes. She also defines and makes very clear distinctions between the terms `insight' and `foresight' as well as `forecast.' She then moves on to introduce her seven principles of Strategic Thinking in the context of the New Science, and elaborates at length her ten-step Futurescape mapping process. To me, her Futurescaping is an extremely innovative expansion of the Mindscaping process created by Nancy Margulies in her book, Mapping Innerspace, which I had reviewed earlier.
She goes on further to differentiate her Futurescape from the traditional mind-mapping process, developed by Tony Buzan. I thought that was great, as I have always felt that mind-mapping is only good for organising personal notes and dumping quick ideas on to paper. I love to play with the Futurescape mapping process, in the light of its ability to present the big visual picture, showing the dynamic interactions and inter-relationships of abstract concepts as well as complex issues.
With hindsight from my own consulting work, I am firmly convinced that Futurescaping can be a very powerful tool for strategic visioning by companies/organisations, as part of their annual business planning exercise. It will allow "left-brain thinkers" to work harmoniously with "right-brain thinkers" to form a whole-brain approach for designing the preferred company future.
Frankly, just learning - and mastering - the Futurescaping process in your life and/or business will be worth more than the money you are going to spend on this book!
The book is divided into two equal parts: with Part 1: Understanding the New Science, and Part 2: The Art & Science of Visual Thinking. In the first part, she outlines and explains many of the New Science terms very well. For once, "butterflies and hurricanes" make some real sense to me. The second part is essentially the application part of the author's visual models. As the author puts it, it is also the framework for the new planning paradigm, as defined by the New Science.
While reading this book, it reminds me of another good book, The Next Common Sense, by Michael Lissack. There seems to be a common thread among the two books. Both authors argue and support very strongly the visual thinking metaphors as powerful tools for comprehending complexity. I strongly recommend readers to get hold of the book.
Again, this is another good book that you just can't read it in one go and put it on your shelf. You have to peruse it, think about it, reflect, and then make use of the Futurescape mapping process. To paraphrase the author, `The present is the future in its most creative state.' Futurescaping will allow you to put your creativity to work. On the whole, the author's writing style is very easy-going.Strategic Thinking and the New Science: Planning in the Midst of Chaos Complexity and Change Overview

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Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams Review

Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams
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Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams ReviewTerry takes a novel look at project management and delivers a book that provides a comprehensive approach to applying the principles of project theory across many industries. The importance of addressing projects from a strategic perspective, something most organizations fail to consider, is clearly demonstrated. The author does an excellent job in detailing a proven approach to completing simple and complex projects, along with showing the importance of managing the strategic action cycle and people dynamics. The Logical Framework, Systems Thinking Theory, the Four Critical Questions, and the Cycle-Logical Approach are clearly described and laid out in a manner that executives, functional management, and project managers at all maturity levels can find immediately useful. Terry provides a very structured yet practical and flexible way to improve project portfolio management. If you follow the steps outlined in this text, your ability to align project activities with higher-level goals and objectives will increase substantially. A wealth of tips, tools, resources, and helpful case studies are given throughout the book. If you see the need for a more structured project management approach, one that will reflect the mission of your organization, department, or personal life, then this book needs to be one of your most often referenced resources.Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams OverviewWhen Fortune Magazine estimated that 70% of all strategies fail, it also noted that most of these strategies were basically sound, but could not be executed. The central premise of Strategic Project Management Made Simple is that most projects and strategies never get off the ground because of adhoc, haphazard, and obsolete methods used to turn their ideas into coherent and actionable plans. Strategic Project Management Made Simple is the first book to couple a step-by-step process with an interactive thinking tool that takes a strategic approach to designing projects and action initiatives. Strategic Project Management Made Simple builds a solid platform upon four critical questions that are vital for teams to intelligently answer in order to create their own strong, strategic foundation. These questions are:1. What are we trying to accomplish and why?2. How will we measure success?3. What other conditions must exist?4. How do we get there?This fresh approach begins with clearly understanding the what and why of a project - comprehending the bigger picture goals that are often given only lip service or cursory reviews. The second and third questions clarify success measures and identify the risky assumptions that can later cause pain if not spotted early. The how questions - what are the activities, budgets, and schedules - comes last in our four-question system. By contrast, most project approaches prematurely concentrate on the how without first adequately addressing the three other questions. These four questions guide readers into fleshing out a simple, yet sophisticated, mental workbench called "the Logical Framework" - a Systems Thinking paradigm that lays out one's own project strategy in an easily accessible, interactive 4x4 matrix. The inclusion of memorable features and concepts (four critical questions, LogFrame matrix, If-then thinking, and Implementation Equation) make this book unique.

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