Page 162 - The Resilient Organization

Case Study: Imaginative Thinking in Action 149

• There are big leadership changes in the company. There is a lot of
politics and positioning for the top jobs. Look for ODDsters for
unbiased opinions, industry know-how, and future visions.
• There is a growing gap between the technology presently in use and
the technology that is replacing the one in use. Look for ODDsters
to have a point of view.
• There is a lot of uncertainty about standards, competitive domi-
nance, and newcomers’ roles. Look for ODDsters to assess what’s
really going on.
• The quality of existing strategy discussion in the firm is low. Look
for ODDsters to add some ideas and color.
• The morale is low, and hope is needed in the form of a new vision,
new strategy, new energy. Look for ODDsters to add some vibrancy.
How to Find an ODDster When You Need One
• Listen to the most intriguing strategy discussion in the firm, any-
where, any time. Join it.
• Look for the most thought-provoking article in the company
newsletter. Go talk to the author.
• Invite people to write a competing strategy document to the official
one. Promise the authors that they can stay anonymous if they so
wish. Read the competing strategy documents and promote the win-
ner to a strategy officer (if the person chooses to reveal his or her
identity, of course).
• Go to the cafeteria and listen to what and whom people talk about.
• Ask five different people who do not know each other in the firm
who they think is the best strategic mind the firm has outside the
strategy department. Go talk to the people they name and ask,
again, who they think are the best strategists. And so on.
• Look for people who have the most connections to the rest of the
world outside the firm.
• Talk to your customers, your partner companies, and your competi-
tors. Who do they think has strategic insight in your company?