Strategic action
Chapter 4 - Corporate futuring
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Welcome to the Strategic action page
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In strategy execution, theory and action must go hand in hand.
Theory without action is shallow. Action without theory runs blindly.
To prevent these fallacies, think about the words of John Maynard Keynes:
"... He (the strategist) must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher -- in some degree. He must understand symbols and speak in words. He must contemplate the particular, in terms of the general, and touch abstract and concrete in the same flight of thought. He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future. No part of man's nature or his institutions must be entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful and disinterested in a simultaneous mood, as aloof and incorruptible as an artist, yet sometimes as near to earth as a politician ..."
Your best practice is to use frameworks (not punctual methods) because they combine theory and practice.
To be honest and open, I am a great admirer of the frameworks designed by Dave Snowden - The Cynefin Company
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Frameworks
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This page takes you directly to the original documents regarding the frameworks.
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| The Cynefin Co | |
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| Organisation | https://thecynefin.co/ |
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Cynefin framework
Cynefin® is a framework for understanding what kind of problem space you are in to guide decisions-making and action. It was created by David Snowden and takes its name from the Welsh word meaning "the place of your multiple belongings."
Dave Snowden et al, Cynefin® - Weaving Sense-Making into the Fabric of Our World, Cognitive Edge Pte Ltd.
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At its most basic, the Cynefin® framework allows us to distinguish between three different kinds of systems:
- Ordered systems in which cause and effect relationships are either clear or discoverable through analysis;
- Complex systems in which the only way to understand the system is to interact;
- Chaotic systems in which turbulence prevails and immediate stabilizing action is required.
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| Cynefin framework | |
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| Overview | https://cynefin.io/wiki/Cynefin |
| Domains | https://cynefin.io/wiki/Cynefin_Domains |
| Field guide | https://cynefin.io/wiki/Field_guide_to_managing_complexity_(and_chaos)_in_times_of_crisis |
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Estuarine framework
It is based on the idea of an estuary (but not a delta), with the metaphor emphasising the complex and multiple flows of possibility in the system.
In an estuary the water flows in and flows out, so there might be things you can do only at the turn of the tide. Some elements might be stable, like a granite cliff, which only need to be checked rarely, while others, like sandbanks, could shift daily. As the water flows in and out, some elements might be covered or visible. Alternative metaphors illustrating similar dynamic and non-linear processes may be used, especially in environments where there is no familiarity with estuaries.
| Estuarine framework | |
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| Overview | https://cynefin.io/wiki/Estuarine_framework |
| Vector theory of change | https://cynefin.io/wiki/Vector_theory_of_change |
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