What are the best books on strategic thinking and planning for leaders?

Is two/three days enough to review an organisation strategic plan? In the past 6 years, i have had the honour to facilitate strategic planning sessions for corporations (private and public) with annual turnover of >$100m. The question of duration mostly pops up at the end of the session, because not all objectives were attained by the end of the session. In my view, the reason why the duration is questioned rest with two reasons; 1. Inadequate understanding of what it means to review a strategic plan 2. A disjointed process mostly designed with hidden undertones meant to achieve a powerful Executive agenda. To ensure review process delivers results, open a discussions on the past, identify sandbags, discuss tools to succeed in the future

If you want to learn how to apply awareness to the direction of businesses and leverage the power of the present moment, you should read The Emerging Strategy by Alejandro Salazar. This book challenges the old-fashioned ideas of strategic planning and offers practical principles to create unique, winning organizations. It is based on the author's successful experience with large multilatin companies and surpasses the theories of renowned business experts. The author shows us how conversations lead to "breaks", "breaks" lead to making "hard choices", and "hard choices" lead to winning. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn how to practice the emerging strategy and kill obsolete rituals.

"Play to Win" by Alan Lafley and Roger Martin. It is a great read for how to take strategy from an esoteric exercise into tangible actions based on a real case (Procter & Gamble). It's a straight-forward framework focusing on five cascading questions: 1) What is your company’s unique aspiration? (hint - it's not "making money") 2) Where do we play? 3) How do we win? 4) What capabilities do we need? 5) How do we manage the company?

Here’s 8 (text limit): 1. "Good Strategy Bad Strategy" by Richard Rumelt 2. "The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life" by Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff 3. "Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works" by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin 4. "Blue Ocean Strategy" by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne 5. "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman (focuses on decision-making, a crucial aspect of strategy) 6. "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries (applies strategic principles to entrepreneurship and innovation) 7. "Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors" by Michael E. Porter 8. "The Innovator's Dilemma" by Clayton M. Christensen (addresses strategic challenges in innovation)

No single book offered what I wanted. Here are 4 good books on strategic thinking and strategy. How to books: Try “Business War Games” and “Early Warnings” by Ben Gilad And Why, What books “The End is Just the Beginning” and “Accidental Superpower” by Peter Zeihan

Richard Rumelt outlined one of the best approaches to strategy. His approach: "A good strategy has an essential logical structure that I call the kernel. The kernel of a strategy contains three elements: a diagnosis, a guiding policy, and coherent action." Selecting the right diagnosis, ultimately, is a judgment. There will always be a human element to this process. However, the book delivers useable insights to develop and implement good strategies.

Good Strategy/Bad Strategy is one of the best books I have read and go back to. Using the "Kernel" approach always enables us to keep a simple framework in mind. 1. Diagnosis 2. A Guiding Policy 3. Set of actions I also love that a good strategy always has set of actions defined inside it, leaving a clear set of instructions for execution.

I just finished this book. What a great read to pull together what strategy really is vs what we think it is based on what we were taught by none strategists. I gained alot of insight. I wish I read this years ago.

This sounds like a great read. The dark and light side of strategic thinking. This will help us know if we are going in the right direction or the wrong one. The darkness of Greed and Pride are always first to rise.

As an alumnus of GE's Leadership Program and having held leadership roles at some of the most respected global consultancies, I understand the profound impact of frameworks and strategic thinking. However, as someone who values these experiences, I also recognize the need for a fundamental shift in our approach to what we consider ‘playing to win.’ In a world that often encourages competition, I firmly believe that it's time for us to embrace conscious collaboration that fosters growth within communities and collectives. True success lies in sharing, in recognizing our completeness and wholeness, and in contributing to the growth of others in our ecosystem. This philosophy is at the heart of my growth strategy, "Leading with Joy."

I am not a fan of playing to win. I am a fan of playing with all we have, and whether we win or lose on the scoreboard, we have won by giving it our all. If we play to win we will be overcome with disappointment if we lose a deal or a job opportunity. If we play with all we have, there will be no disappointment.

I am not a fan for setting our thinking for our future. None of us have a crystal ball. I like planning for each day as it comes and let the future take care of itself through faith in Jesus giving me what I need now and in my future.

In my experience those four forces have driven many a strategy as they show up as challenges to an organization if you don’t keep abreast with changes in those areas and open to new ways of doing things. Anticipation is everything so that you can prepare in the present and take steps to help shape the future. Nothing is set in stone for the future so being able to frequently check in on strategy and being flexible to pivot is also things to be done today. I haven’t read this book but am going to put it on my list for clients.

I absolutely agree with Marty. I understand and appreciate the frameworks and suggestions from strategic thinking books, lectures, conferences. However, these points change and grow with time and experience. Being your best no matter the uncertainties and having a positive mindset go a long way. Align your personal strategy with your own vision for success. You will never be disappointed.

My given faith in our Heavenly Father has been my cornerstone in strategic thinking when I have made any work or personal-related decision. He has always given me the right questions to ask myself. For example: Which decision aligns with His will? Which decision brings the common good for all? What is my motivation for making this decision? Does it give me what I want or what others and I need? Does it glorify myself as a leader, or does it glorify Him for making me a Leader? Millions of leaders do not turn to God and receive the questions they must ask themselves.

There are many relevant and well-written books on this topic that haven't been mentioned yet. A few of them are: - The Art of Action by Stephen Bungay - The Strategist by Cynthia Montgomery - Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr - 3HAG Way by Shannon Byrne Susko

Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change is one of my favorites. As good as any strategy might be, it's worth nothing unless you're able to rally others around a cause that they care deeply about and want to act on. So a good strategy STARTS with thinking through: Who cares, and how will I reach them? I love this book for the powerful stories that rock my mindset and remind me that it's possible to dream big, find my people, enlist their support, and change the world together. https://www.amazon.com/Influencer-Science-Leading-Change-Second/dp/0071808868

If you want to challenge yourself to think differently, consider Misbehaving by Richard Thaler and Alchemy by Rory Sutherland. All other strategy books I've read (including many on this list) are new takes on the same old ideas. Not bad, just the same - Rational strategy. That's great in a rational world, but I haven't found one of those yet. Considering the irrational tendencies of individual people will broaden your approach to how you lead and build strategy. Then you will stand out while leading more effectively. This is why I prefer behavioral economics so much when considering strategy. Richard Thaler literally invented the discipline, and I believe Rory Sutherland has successfully built upon that foundation.

"On Thermonuclear War" by Herman Kahn. This is the best example by far how to react if everything you have done and learned before is suddenly challenged by an external disruption.

The Drunkard's Walk by Leonard Mlodinow - My Clients and I have this discussion all the time: Strategy is not [just] about what you [think] you can see and what you [think] you know; it is also about randomness, chance and probability. Have fun with this book and be open to it's many lessons