So I’m fascinated by this concept of DESIGN THINKING and how it can apply to STRATEGY GENERATION. In particular, I think a really good strategist cannot be satisfied with just following the old models, however useful (e.g. Porters Five Forces). A strategist cannot be an automaton, who simply gathers data and plugs it into a framework of analysis which they are comfortable using. A true strategist must enter the realm of META-FRAMEWORKS. In other words, design a process-oriented context that facilitates the creation of analytical frameworks.

To take the “frame” analogy even further, a typical strategist is like an optometrist. They provide many different lenses through which to look at the world — to look at data and turn data into actionable intelligence. Maybe they provide lenses of various colors, shapes, sizes. This is pretty good.

But think about taking it a step further. What if you could design lenses for the specific scenarios, customize them for each situation, or come up with a complete new way of “seeing” the world that doesnt even involve a “lens” per se. Maybe you could get really crazy and figure out how to create night vision lenses, or lenses that turn dark in the sun, or ways to see into space using radio telescopes. What can you see? Stars, nebulae, galaxies? What about dark matter? What about extra-solar planets or “exoplanets?” Some of the latest advances in astronomy involve advanced techniques for identifying planets in solar systems outside of our own. This is really exciting stuff! These new techniques can not only identify the existence of these planets, but also their chemical composition, temperature, and if it’s possible that life could be sustained there. The INSIGHTS these new techniques are able to produce are very material. And they are, in degree and kind, drastically different from the “insights” a typical optometrist can produce by setting you up with a new pair of shades.

So where am I going with all this (at 2:01 AM)? As business leaders, we must always try to see with new eyes. We can do this through constantly designing new frameworks, new lenses through which to look at the world. And this goes to the point of the matter: a healthy dose of self awareness, design thinking, and commitment to process will result in a context in which new frameworks of analysis can come into view. And these new frameworks will reveal things we may never have imagined were even there.