Making Good Decisions About Strategy

When it comes to strategy, more minds are better than one. 

Good leaders rely heavily on the influence of colleagues, subject-matter experts, and other key stakeholders to debate the benefits and drawbacks of a new strategy under consideration. The more input, the better. 

This team effort helps to produce a set of strategy options for achieving the long-term goals essential for continued success. 

Yet, at the end of the day, the leader or primary decision-maker must select the best option and set the new strategy in motion. 

Research confirms that the leader and how they think about the future remain the most crucial components regarding the quality of a decision about strategy. 

As it turns out, the best predictor of such a quality decision is whether a leader shapes a story about the future before they consider each option.

The good news is that most leaders naturally create a story of future events to guide their thinking. They envision a future state and the steps required to get there before examining any given option. 

From this vantage, they can consider how a given strategy will play out or apply itself within the frame of their storyline. 

Like all good stories, this storyline includes key actors, their motivations, a set of actions and judgments that develop the narrative, and a conclusion with a lesson. Making this storyline explicit gives it even more power to guide the decision about what strategy to adopt. 

With the storyline etched into their thinking, leaders are now better able to assess what actions must be taken, the capabilities of the team to execute these actions, how the team will respond when things go according to plan (or fail to), how competitors might react, what dialogues will likely ensue during execution, and what roadblocks and springboards will arise during the process, among many other considerations. 

Effectively “thinking through a strategy” benefits greatly from the storyline. The story provides a backdrop from which a better choice can be made. 

Stories are powerful organizing structures that enhance decision-making when they are deployed effectively. When deciding about a new strategy, consider creating a storyline about the future regarding the problem or opportunity and then apply that story to make a better judgment and choice. 

We learn best through stories, so it should come as no surprise that a storyline can assist our thinking in ways we can’t easily explain. 

Be sure to articulate the story about the future so as to guide your decision-making, especially when it comes to strategy. Sound strategy starts with having a clear storyline that articulates a leader’s personal vision for the future. 

When a strategy lines up with that story, a great call can be made.