Chapter 1 - Introduction

Question 1

What is strategy?

Answer 1

Difficult to answer, the academics are opposed to each other. People follow different views and beliefs

Question 2

elaborate on key issues?

Answer 2

The core point is that people are very different in regards that what issues are considered key

Question 3

What is the intention of this book?

Answer 3

encourage thinking aobut the values of different views

Question 4

elaborate on tool driven vs problem driven approach

Answer 4

tool driven is about first learning about the tools, and then applying them on problems.

The problem driven is about understanding the problem, and then looking into tools.

Question 5

how does this book handle problems vs theories+

Answer 5

Present an issue, deep the issue, and then present the major theories within the issue.

NB: The theories are not necessarily exclusive to an issue. The book utilitze theories that are useful for the issue

Question 6

what kind of problems do we differ between?

Answer 6

either/or,

both/and,

Examples of either/or problems are:
1) Puzzles
2) Dilemmas

Examples of both/and problems:
1) Trade-offs
2) Paradoxes

Puzzle is a challenge with an optimal solution.

Dilemmas have two solutions where neither is necessarily a good solution.

Trade-offs have many solutions, each one striking a differnet balance. FOr instance work vs leisure time.

Paradoxes are cases where we actually need both solutions, but there are no solution. It is a wrestle.

Question 7

Important thing about either/or problems vs the both/and problems

Answer 7

either/or can be solved.

both/and can only be managed. There are no choice we make that solve the problem.

Question 8

What options do we have in terms of managing paradoxes

Answer 8

Navigating: focusing on one contrary demand at a time. Paradox is mnaged over time by considering a sequential series of contrary initiatives. Keyword is initiatives. The firm will focus on one demand at a time.

parallel processing: Split up the contrary demands and handle them at differnet “places”. Then they are typically integrated in some way.

Balancing: Finding a dynamic equilibrium. Search for a company specific balance that may very well change with time. The goal is NOT to find a static solutiotn.

Juxtaposing: managing both demands at the same time on a permanent basis.

Resolving: high level equilibrium

Embracing: Utilizing the contrary demands in a way that can facilitate best of both worlds

Question 9

What is the goal with the paradoxes?

Answer 9

The goal is not to manage them in itself. The goal is to outperform competitors. Managing the paradoxes is a way of helping to do this

Question 10

What are/define “strategic problems”

Answer 10

A strategic problem is not a negative thing, but is a challenging situation that needs to be resolved.

Can be to profit on observed opportunities or to deal with an imminent treat for instance.

Question 11

What is the chapter about strategizing about+

Answer 11

The strategic reasoning process. How we think, and how we should think

Question 12

What is “cognition”?

Answer 12

Cognition is defined as “to know”

Question 13

Elaborate broadly on the issue of strategic thinking

Answer 13

Basically: The human brain has its shortcomings.

We are interested in the cognitive activities, which is the strategic thinking activities that we do. This is about identifying problems, diagnosing, realizning and conceiving.

However, the brain is fucked up, and is limited by cognitive abilities. In order to be able to do the cognitive activities, people need to command certain mental facultiies.

to deal with the shortcomings, the human brain copes by building simiplifed models, which we refer to as cognitive maps.

Question 14

Elaborate on cognitive activities

Answer 14

In general, we say that the cognitive activities are mental tasks intended to increase the strategist’s knowing.

we make a distinciton between the cognitive activities that are “defining” and those that are “solving” a problem.
We have 4 cognitive activities.
1) Identifying
2) Diagnoising
3) Conceiving
4) Realizing

Identifying and diagonising are in the “defining” part, while “realizing” and “conceiving” are in the solving part.

Identifying is about recognizing a problem and acknowledge their challenges and importances.
Diagnoizing is about trying to understand that structure of the problem and its underlying cause. Reflective part.

Conceiving is about formulating potential solutions and imagining ways to deal with the problem.

Realizing is about implementing the solution.

The order of the list is important to give structure to the process.

Question 15

elaborate on cognitive abilities

Answer 15

In essence,
1) We cant know everyhthing
2) We are limited in processing power
3) We have limited in memory

Question 16

broadly on intuition vs logical thinking

Answer 16

intuition is fast and can have the advantage of many years of experience.

However, inuition is unlreliable, imprecise. Focus on a few set of variables

Question 17

inutition is based on cognitive maps. How can we avoid the danger of being trapped in potentially faulty maps?

Answer 17

Requires strong logical thinking.

Basically: The demand for logical thinking comes from our cognitive maps being perhaps faulty

Question 18

elaborate on the demand for intuitive thinking

Answer 18

The idea is that inuition allows us to access our subconciousness, whihc holds experience. It allows us to use many variables at once, which basically means that we connect learning and experience at differnet levels and create a single result based on all of that.

Question 19

what are the perspectives called in the “logic vs intuition” paradox?

Answer 19

1) The analytical reasoning perspective

2) The holistic reasoning perspective

Question 20

elaborate on the analytical reasoning perspective

Answer 20

basically, avoid emotions and intuition. The reason for this is that they are unreliable and cannot be trusted.

The scientific method and tradition is strong here

Question 21

elaborate on the holistic reasoning perspective

Answer 21

There is too much wickedness and unstructure in problems to be able to use a fixed method. There is too much interpretation to be made, and believing that logic can solve all of this is ill-advised, according to this lot.

Logic is still important, but not like that.

Opportunities and threats dont simply exist, waiting to be discovered. Instead, there is a judgement processing, ultimately ending with someone perceiving it like an opportunity etc.

They argue that using too much logic gives a false sense of certainty, and just takes too much time.

Question 22

Place the perspectives in regards to nature of reasoning/thinking

Answer 22

Holistic perspective is inductive.

The analytical perspective is deductive.

Question 23

Place the perspectives in regards to:
1) System at work
2) Assumption about reality
3) Thinking hindered by

Answer 23

1) Analytical reasoning consider concious reasoning. holistic perspective consider subconcuous

2) Analytical is objective, holistic is subjective

3) Analytical is hindered by incomplete information, holistic is hindered by bad cognitive maps