>How do you understand the context, or bigger picture? I don't know the
>answer - but I know it when I see it !!! Seriously, the people we view as
>visionaries or leaders seem to have the ability to put problems in context
>(or reframe the problem using George Polya's terms). The strategic
>planning process of organisations, if done correctly, is all about this
>problem reframing process. Now, does anyone have any ideas on how to do
>this ..... ?
We have found the whole system approaches like future search and Real Time
Strategic Change to be a most useful way. By bringing the whole system
into the room and using interactive participative processes which enable
them to build the biggest possible strategic database of information from
every angle, acknowledge the competing realities present in the
organsiation and focus on sharing images of future potential you can
simultaneously plan and implement and everyone sees a much bigger picture
than they came in with. Our experience of leaders leaving this type of
meeting is that they acknowledge that whilst they have a particular
strategic vantage point they do not have all the strategic information -
the way business is done gets changed after experiences like this (once
you have seen the bigger picture it is hard to forget it).
-- Julie Beedon VISTA Associates - consulting for a better future julie@vistabee.win-uk.net