The Financial Times Guide to Leadership

10

Cultivating your strategic thinking

‘The real challenge in crafting strategy lies in detecting subtle discontinuities that may undermine a business in the future. And for that there is no technique, no program, just a sharp mind in touch with the situation.’

Henry Mintzberg, Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies,McGill University, Montreal

This chapter covers:

• what a leader needs in order to spearhead the strategic thinking process
• how to use traditional strategic tools
• the best ways to develop your strategic thinking abilities
• the role of trend spotting in strategic thinking.

LAN Chile and the ant colony

In 1994, the Cueto family acquired part of the Chilean national airlines, LAN. Their core expertise was in the cargo business ...