Mick Ryan’s Thinking About Strategic Thinking
I’m recommending Major General Mick Ryan’s Thinking About Strategic Thinking (Australian Department of Defence -> available here), and Ryan’s ongoing commentary on strategic thinking through his LinkedIn posts, articles and media interviews.
Strategic relevance: Ryan addresses a critical gap that plagues most organisations: we mistake strategic planning for strategic thinking. Strategic planning is analytical and works within existing parameters, while strategic thinking is creative and challenges those very parameters to “discover novel strategies which can re-write the rules.” But Ryan’s deeper insight is about systematic development of strategic thinkers. He identifies four institutional challenges: defining what we want in strategic thinkers, creating cultures that reward strategic thinking, selecting talent systematically across career stages, and developing capabilities through diverse experiences over time. His core premise that “individuals think strategically, not institutions” – yet institutional culture determines whether strategic thinking develops – cuts to why most leadership teams struggle with genuine strategic capability beyond planning exercises.
Best for: Senior executives who want to build internal strategic thinking capability rather than remaining dependent on external consultants. Leaders seeking systematic approaches to identify and develop strategic talent across their organisation, not just at senior levels.
Personal angle: In my facilitation work, I’ve observed that organisations that outsource their strategic thinking to consultants never develop internal strategic muscle. My process deliberately uses every step of the strategic work to build the organisation’s capability – designing for shared learning and ensuring leadership teams do the hard reps as individuals and collectively. This approach aligns directly with Ryan’s premise that “individuals think strategically, not institutions” while also working the cultural dimension he emphasises. During these facilitated strategic processes, strategic thinking talent becomes more identifiable naturally. By democratising strategic thinking rather than restricting it to a few senior roles, everyone gets a chance to assess their own strategic capabilities and identify where they want to develop further. Ryan’s insight that we need “multiple approaches to improving our strategic thinking, to broaden our diversity and prevent an institutionalised view” has become central to how I design strategic processes that build genuine capability rather than dependency on external expertise.
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