Role Models & The Movement

Strategy Tools would not have been possible without the larger movement of ideas, people and companies trying to shape the future of strategy. We truly stand on the shoulders of intellectual giants and passionate strategists as we develop Strategy Tools.

The Movement

Over the past 18 years, we have been fortunate to find ourselves at the intersection of five trends that are now converging:

The world of strategy is shifting

The rise of visual thinking

A massive growth in toolification of strategy

The accelerating pace of change

Software is eating the world

Role Models

Over the past 18 years, we have been able to combine action research, teaching, consulting, writing, speaking and collaborating with amazing people in these fields.

In the field of Visual thinking design, a handful of people have been highly influential.

Karl-Erik Sveiby and his work with Tango and KMAP. One of us (Christian) has had the pleasure of working with Sveiby and the SKA Global Network back in 2002 – 2003. This was the first introduction to the power of visual, interactive strategic tool. Little did we know at the time, how powerful this learning would be when, in 2018, we developed our own strategy Simulations; Transform!, Scale Up! & Supercluster!

Next comes Verna Allee and her work around Value Networks. Again, a highly visual management tool to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the intangible relations in a firm’s business model. Lengthy discussions, since 2002, with Verna was a powerful lever to start experimenting with visual management tools.

Since 2013, Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith and the massive team of global Business Model Innovators have been a great source of inspiration. This crowd of engaged innovators have used visual design and the power of social media to create a truly global conversation and a global movement around business model innovation. We can only hope our work can contribute to the global conversation around the future of strategy.

David Sibbett, Dan Roam and Patrick van der Pijl have all been widely sharing and publishing their work around visual thinking, continuously raising the bar on visual strategy thinking.

Since 2014, a growing collaboration with amazing visual recorder Holger Nils Pohl, has been both highly inspirational and incredibly helpful.

Also of invaluable inspiration is Nancy Duarte and her team at Duarte Design. The teachings embedded in her books should be a must-have for any aspiring leader across the globe.

In the field of strategy and innovation, we have been fortunate to work with or closely follow the work of Professor Rita McGrath, Gary Hamel, Clayton M. Christensen, Scott Anthony, and the great team at Innosight & InnosightX, Bill Fischer, Jean-Phillipe Deschamps, Rowan Gibson, Linda Yates, Ian Pallister, Maria Mazzucato, Alexander Osterwalder and the team at Strategyzer, Costas Markides, Torger Reve and many others

A small selection of key sources (Not complete, not final, and far from everyone so far)

Visual thinking design

Allee, Verna (2002) The Future of Knowledge: Increasing Prosperity through Value Networks

Duarte, Nancy (2008) slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations

Duarte, Nancy (2010) Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences

Gray, Dave, Brown, S. & Macanufo, J. (2010) Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers

Osterwalder, Alexander and Pigneur, Yves (2010) Business Model Generation:A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers

Roam, Dan (2008) The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Picture

Roam, Dan (2009) Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-On Method for Solving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures

Roam, Dan (2011) Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don’t Work

Sibbet, David (2010) Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes and Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity.

Sibbett, David (2011) Visual Teams: Graphic Tools for Commitment, Innovation, and High Performance

Sibbet, David (2012) Visual Leaders: New Tools for Visioning, Management, and Organization Change

Toolkit Structure and Content

Afuah, Allan (2003) Innovation Management, pg. 13 – 4

Andersen, Michael Moesgaard (2010) Return on Strategy: how to achieve it

Anthony, Scott D., et.al (2008) Innovator’s Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work

Anthony, Scott D. & Duncan, David (2012) Building a Growth Factory

Anthony, Scott D (2011) The Little Black Book of Innovation: How It Works, How to Do It
Anthony, Scott D, et.al (2017) Dual Transformation

Baghai, M, Coley, S and White, D (2000) The Alchemy of Growth (the McKinsey three Horizon Model)

Blank, Steve (2013) Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard Business Review
Bradley, Chris (2018) Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick

Christensen, Clayton (2002) The Innovator’s Dilemma Christensen,

Clayton & Raynor, Michael (2003) The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth

Christensen, Clayton, Anthony, S. & Roth, Eric (2004) Seeing What’s Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change

Design workshop (2010) Action research workshop, Copenhagen, Denmark

Design workshop (2011a) Action research workshop. Stavanger, Norway

Design workshop (2011b) Action research workshop, Stavanger, Norway

Design workshop (2012a) Action research workshop, Stavanger, Norway

Design workshop (2012b) Action research workshop, Stavanger, Norway

Fischer, Bill (2013) Reinventing Giants: How Chinese Global Competitor Haier Has Changed the Way Big Companies Transform

Fischer, Bill (2013) How big are your dreams?

Fischer Bill (2014) Rethinking Thinking About Strategy

Fischer, Bill (2014) Unlock Employee Innovation That Fits With Your Strategy Govindarajan,

Vijay & Trimble, Chris (2010) The Other Side of Innovation: Solving the Execution Challenge

Hamel, Gary, Prahalad, C.K. (1989) Strategic Intent

Hamel, Gary (1996) Strategy as Revolution

Hamel, Gary (2007) The Future of Management

Hamel, Gary (2009) Moon shots for management

Hamel, Gary (2012) What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation

Hensmans, Manuel, Johnson, Gerry & Yip, George (2012) Strategic Transformation: Changing While Winning

Johnson, Mark (2010) Seizing the White Space: Business Model Innovation for Growth and Renewal

Kaplan, Saul (2012) The Business Model Innovation Factory: How to Stay Relevant When The World is Changing

Kelley, Tom & Kelley, David (2013) Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All

Kelley, Thomas (2007) The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America’s Leading Design Firm

Kim, W Chan , Mauborgne, Renee (2005) Blue Ocean Strategy

Markides, Constantinos (2008) Game-Changing Strategies: How to Create New Market

Space in Established Industries by Breaking the Rules

Mazzucato, Mariana (2015) The Entrepreneurial State

McGrath, Rita Gunther (2013) The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast as Your Business

McGrath, Rita Gunther (2013) Transient Advantage
McGrath, Rita Gunther (2009) Discovery-Driven Growth:

McKinsey (2000) The Three Horizon Model

McQuivey, James (2013) Digital Disruption: Unleashing the Next Wave of Innovation

Nagji, Bansi, Tuff, Geoff (2012) Managing Your Innovation Portfolio, Harvard Business Review
Reve, Torger (2012-201) Various presentations and publications

Roos, Johan (2004) Sparking strategic imagination

Roos, Johan (1999) Strategy as serious play

Skarzynski, Peter and Gibson, Rowan (2008) Innovation to the Core: A Blueprint for Transforming the Way Your Company Innovates

Snyder, Nancy Tennant & Duarte, D. (2008) Unleashing Innovation: How Whirlpool Transformed an Industry

Snyder, Nancy Tennant & Duarte, D. (2003) Strategic Innovation: Embedding Innovation as a Core Competency in Your Organization

Tidd, Joe and John Bessant (2009) Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological, Market and Organizational Change