Strategic vs Systems Thinking
by Scott Fry · 63 things on Twos
- Strategic Thinking
- What is it?
- Big-picture thinking to set direction and focus.
- When to use it?
- Setting goals and priorities
- Launching new products or markets
- Planning growth
- Key Questions
- Where are we going?
- What should we focus on?
- What will move the needle?
- Best Practices
- Anchor to the mission
- Use data and models
- Align people, capital, and operations
- Review quarterly
- Tools to Use
- SWOT
- OKRs
- Strategic Roadmaps
- Porter's 5 Forces
- Common Pitfalls
- Chasing trends
- Overthinking the plan
- Ignoring execution limits
- Reality Checks
- Most strategies need 2 - 3 rounds before they click.
- Real-world examples
- Startup
- Pick a niche & price point
- Scale-up
- Prioritize market expansion
- Systems Thinking
- What is it?
- Understanding how everything connects and affects the whole.
- When to use it?
- Solving messy problems
- Improving how teams work together.
- Managing change
- Key questions
- How do parts influence each other?
- Where are delays or loops?
- What could backfire?
- Best Practices
- Map the full system
- Trace causes, not symptoms
- Test fast, learn fast
- Tools to use
- Causal-loop maps
- Stock-flow diagrams
- Systems archetypes
- Common pitfalls
- Over-analysis
- Getting lost in the big picutre
- Solcing once problem, creating another.
- Reality Check
- Big changes take time -- often 12 - 24 months to show results
- Real-world examples
- Start-up
- Find onboarding friction across teams.
- Enterprise
- Cut churn by fixing handoff gaps
- Set Strategy > Map the System > Execute > Learn > Refine