building strategic thinking capacity at microsoft - lesson learned

Strategic Thinking: The Outthinker Process

Kaihan KrippendorffShannon Wallis

Kaihan Krippendorff & Blessing White, All Rights Reserved.

Shannon Wallis Kaihan Krippendorff


Webinar objectives

Understand five steps to outthink the competition®.

Learn how Microsoft applied the five steps.

Consider lessons learned and potential application at your company.


Objectives

Define our vision and goals

Imagine

Choose key leverage points

Dissect

Generate potential strategies

Expand

Choose our strategy

Analyze

Decide how to communicate our strategy

Sell

Outthinker MethodologyThe Five HABITS of Innovative Leaders &

Teams


Three Approaches

Traditional Strategic Planning

Blended Problem Solving

High Potential Development


Traditional Strategic Planning

What does the Market expect us

to deliver?

1

What do we want to create?

3

4

2

5

What strategies do we need to execute our plan?

What is the gap?

Where are we today?

Breakthrough Performance Model adapted from Judy Rosenblum, 2007

Destination

Current Reality


Blended Problem Solving -- Innovation

Product

Process

Incremental Radical


2014 Kaihan Krippendorff All Rights Reserved.

I | IMAGINE

The Mess

(# of months)

1

Long-term ideal2

Near-term ideal3

(# of months)

What must be true in the near-term for you to realize your long-

term ideal?

Given This, What Is the Long-Term Ideal? How will you look and operate differently than you do today?

Imagine the EnvironmentWhat forces will you face in your internal and external landscape? What do you expect other players will be

doing?

Imagine the ImpactWhat impact do you want to have in the future that you

don’t have today? What do you want your stakeholders/customers to say that they aren’t saying

today?


Position

Process

Physicalexperience

People

PlaceProduct

PromotionPrice

The 8Ps

0 – no difference1 – 4 year difference2 – 5+ year difference

D | DISSECT


Alexandra Kosteniuk

E | EXPAND


Relative number of narratives chess players recognize:

Grand master Master Expert


Europe & North America –Fairy tales

Japan – Koan

India – Puranas

China – 36 stratagems


Coordinated the Uncoordinated


Move Early to the Next Battleground

“I just think a future in which anyone can shoot stuff into space is more exciting than one which

only the government can.”

Elon Musk, founder, Space-X (2003 interview)


34 More Narratives to Embrace & Extend!


High

Low

Crazy ideas Winning moves

Wastes of time Tactics

Impact• How far would

this get me toward my goal?

• How long before the competition responds?

Difficult Easy

• Can we do this quickly?• Is this inexpensive?• Do we have the capability?

A | ANALYZE


Choosing Your 4th Option Strategy

High

Low

Crazy ideas Winning moves

Wastes of time Tactics

Impact• How far would

this get me toward my goal?

• How long before the competition responds?

Difficult Easy

• Can we do this quickly?• Is this inexpensive?• Do we have the capability?


H

M

L

Power

ML H

Ability to influence

Who do you need to convince? What is your message?

• What is yourintended outcomeof the communi-cation?

• What do you want them to do or believe?

• What do you know about the audience?

• What message/narrative will be the most influential with the audience?

• How can you best engage the audience?

DispositionNeutral- Unknown?Positive Negative Goal Audience Message Engage-

ment

S | SELL


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building strategic thinking capacity at microsoft - lesson learned

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