The new strategic paradigm

FromTo
LinearNon-linear
Static, cause-effect view of individual factorsDynamic, constantly changing field of interactions
Microscopic, localWide angle, global
SeparatenessRelatedness
MarketplaceEnvironment
ReductionistNon-reductionist
Component thinkingSeeing and thinking in wholes
Time cards, task analysisComplex Adaptive Systems
Problem solvingButterfly Effect, system feedback
BrainstormingSelf-organization, adaptation
PolarisationEnvironmental scanning plus mapping
Structure creates processUnderlying processes and interactions of a system’s variables create self-organizing patterns, shapes and structures
Pays attention to policies and procedures that are usually fixed and inflexiblePays attention to initial conditions, perking information, emerging events, and strange attractors
Standing committeesAd hoc working groups, networks
PoliticsLearning
Planning as discrete eventPlanning as continuous process
Planning by elite specialist groupPlanning requires whole system input
Implementation of planImplementation flexible and constantly evolving in response to emerging conditions
Forecasting through data analysisForesight through synthesis
QuantitativeQualitative
Controlling, stabilizing or managing changeResponding to and influencing change as it emerges
Dinosaur behaviourEntrepreneurial behaviour
Change as threatChange as opportunity
Leads to stagnation and extinctionLeads to renewal and growth
Adapted from Irene Sanders (1998), Strategic Thinking and the New Sciences: Planning in the Midst of Chaos, Complexity and Change

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