Strategic Thinking Skills

Overview

Join an award-winning professor to learn accessible ways to engage with thinking that will help you think (and act) more strategically in business and in your own life.

Start making savvier decisions and outsmart your competitors with greater confidence and ease with this simple and comprehensive guide to the skills, tactics, techniques, tools, case studies, and lessons behind strategic thinking. Professor Ridgley has crafted these 24 lectures as an accessible way to engage with thinking that will help you think—and act—more strategically in business and in your own life, whether you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or you’re preparing to embark on a new career path.

These lectures are loosely organized around several key topics central to effective strategic thinking, including: principles of conflict (in which you’ll follow the development of strategic theory from its roots in great military campaigns to its modern applications in business); competitive intelligence (which plays an increasingly important role in strategic thinking); and tools of strategy and analysis (which can aid your understanding of the forces that shape our future and can help you make sense of a rapidly changing world).

Central to these lectures are the tools and tricks that strategic thinkers have used to better approach problems and seek lasting solutions. Among those you’ll learn how to use are the indirect approach (which offers you a much greater utility in achieving your objectives without approaching your opponent head-on); the value chain (a method that divides your team or organization into its value-producing activities so you can better inform yourself on its internal strengths and weaknesses); and the four actions framework (in which you ask yourself four questions to challenge your established logic in an effort to gain a stronger competitive advantage).

Course Structure

01: The World of Strategic Thinking

Enter the fascinating world of strategic thinking. Start by learning some of the key terms and concepts you’ll encounter, with a focus on the differences between “strategy” and “tactics.” You’re also introduced to how strategic thinking works in business, politics, military combat, sports, and much more.

Duration: 33 min

02: The Origins and Relevance of Ancient Strategy

To truly grasp strategic thinking, you must understand its origins and traditions. See how the writings and ideas of early strategists, including Thucydides, Sun Tzu, Hannibal, and Machiavelli, can provide you with modes of thinking and practical guidance you can use even today.

Duration: 32 min

03: The Dawn of Modern Strategic Thinking

Follow along as strategic thinking develops in military engagements from the French Revolution to the close of World War I. You’ll examine the contributions of Napoleon Bonaparte (whose strategies of indirect approach and central positioning demonstrate the power of ideas over material resources), influential military theorists, and famous geopolitical thinkers.

Duration: 32 min

04: Modern Principles of Strategic Conflict

Objective. Offensive. Maneuver. Unity of Command. Security. Professor Ridgley demystifies these and other principles of war in use by the U.S. military since the 1920s. Each of these principles goes beyond military action and can offer you vital guidelines for executing your professional and personal strategies against a sometimes hostile world.

Duration: 30 min

05: Geography – Know Your Terrain

Delve into the influence of microgeography on your own decision making and discover how interacting with your physical space in situations of conflict and competition can make or break your chances of success. Case studies and examples in this lecture range from Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo to a simple chess match.

Duration: 30 min

06: Grand Strategists and Strategic Intent

At the center of every great strategy is a vision – a strategic intent. Learn the importance of powerful strategic intents by studying what constitutes an effective vision, how figures such as John F. Kennedy have articulated them, and what happens when you fail to have a solid strategic intent.

Duration: 33 min

07: The Core and the Rise of Strategic Planning

How do you actually plan an effective strategy? First, follow the development of formal strategic planning in the business realm after World War I. Then, Professor Ridgley walks you through his six-step strategic planning process that can better help you craft a successful strategy.

Duration: 30 min

08: Which Business Strategy? Fundamental Choices

Learn the major ways that firms and people compete economically – and how these strategies can apply even to nonbusiness activities. You’ll contrast cost leadership (selling products at the lowest possible price and making profit on volume) with differentiation (providing something unique beyond low prices), and also consider a special form of hyperdifferentiation known as “focus.”

Duration: 32 min

09: Your Competitive Advantage – Find the Blue Ocean

What is your unique selling proposition, and how do you develop it? How do you find your “blue ocean” and differentiate yourself in some meaningful way? Most important: How can thinking differently and taking risks actually help you stand apart from the pack in positive ways? Find the answers right here.

Duration: 31 min

10: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

Examine some of the powerful analytical tools that strategic thinkers use to make calculated and honest assessments of the world around them – and better understand their own capabilities. The four invaluable tools you’ll learn about in this lecture are PEST analysis, five forces analysis, value chain analysis, and the technique known as Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT).

Duration: 28 min

11: Avoid the Pathologies of Execution

Even with a superb strategy, the best-laid plans can go awry for many reasons. Here, Dr. Ridgley uses examples from military combat to illustrate some of the common causes of strategic failure. These include poor intelligence, overreach, and communication breakdown.

Duration: 29 min

12: Tactics of Combat as Problem-Solving Tools

There is much to be learned from studying the major tactics of war – the frontal assault, the indirect approach, turning the flank, and rear area battle – beyond just winning battles. In each instance, you’ll start by exploring the technique’s military roots and then turn to its fascinating applications in the business world.

Duration: 31 min

13: Shock of the New – Inflection Points

How do you navigate game-changing events and developments (strategic inflection points) that force you to radically readjust your strategy? Examine a range of case studies in business (such as the 1978 deregulation of the airline industry), politics (limiting a U.S. president’s term in office), military conflict (new weaponry introduced during the Crusades), and other areas.

Duration: 29 min

14: Surprise! Perils and Power of Strategic Deception

Surprise is a valuable tool in strategic thinking. In this insightful lecture, discover the inner workings of powerful surprise tactics such as unexpected timing and creation of false expectations in opponents – and how these tactics have been used throughout history. Also, find out how you can apply them to conflict situations you may face.

Duration: 29 min

15: The Sources and Uses of Reliable Intelligence

Investigate the role of intelligence collection in crafting a good strategy. First, consider what is (and isn’t) intelligence. Then, examine the intelligence cycle to learn how intelligence is produced and used. Finally, confront some major obstacles that thwart the use of intelligence.

Duration: 29 min

16: Move and Countermove – The Theory of Games

Tap into the secrets of game theory. You’ll uncover how this recent field – and its classic games, including the Prisoner’s Dilemma and the Tragedy of the Commons – contribute to our understanding of how people reason and how to use this knowledge to best pursue strategy in your own games.

Duration: 29 min

17: The Evolution of Cooperation

Does cooperation make sense, even under conditions of potential conflict when you’re trying to get ahead? How can it be used in strategies that maximize everyone’s welfare? Explore powerful military and business situations involving cooperation, from the Christmas truce in World War I to the alliance between AT&T and T-Mobile in 2011.

Duration: 31 min

18: When Strategy Breaks Down

It’s important for any strategic thinker and planner to understand obstacles to strategy. Learn to cultivate a healthy skepticism by studying a phenomenon Dr. Ridgley calls “strategic masquerade”; looking at types of misalignments that can derail your strategies (such as groupthink); and increasing your awareness of the dangers of “strategic erosion.”

Duration: 31 min

19: Leverage Cognitive Psychology for Better Strategy

Explore some ideas and theories of cognitive psychology that can help improve your decision making and avoid irrational thinking in strategic situations. You’ll learn how to dodge thinking traps by employing such techniques as historical comparisons and situational logic.

Duration: 29 min

20: Strategic Intuition and Creative Insight

Research suggests that, under certain conditions, intuition and instinct (also known as coup d’oeil) can be effective in making decisions. Take a closer look at several examples of strategic intuition in action (including a critical Civil War battle) and learn seven easy steps for helping you use intuitive insights to tackle problems.

Duration: 29 min

21: From Systemic Problems to Systemic Solutions

Systemic problems, which arise repeatedly because of processes already in place, are a hurdle to more effective strategic thinking and planning. Here, analyze the nature and structure of systemic problems from the vantage point of a strategic thinker – and learn some definitive ways to fix them.

Duration: 30 min

22: Seize the Future with Scenario Analysis

Perfect information that allows us to strategically plan around the uncertainties of the future is impossible – but there are tools that can help you better grapple with and manage the future. Professor Ridgley guides you through the steps of scenario planning and shows you ways to no longer fear the unexpected.

Duration: 32 min

23: The Correlation of Forces, Luck, and Culture

The correlation of forces; luck; the four dimensions of culture – three powerful concepts you can harness to your strategic thinking needs, endow yourself with potent analytical power, and dramatically increase your chances of achieving strategic success. Learn all about them here.

Duration: 28 min

24: Strategic Thinking as a Way of Life

Revisit the importance of strategic thinking at work and at home. Why should you think strategically? How can you teach yourself to see larger patterns in the world around you? What will the future of strategic thinking look like?

Duration: 33 min