To Build Strategy, Start with the Future

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2020

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mark Johnson, cofounder of the consulting firm Innosight, says that too many managers develop strategy while focusing on problems in the present, and that’s especially true during a crisis. Instead, he argues, leaders should imagine the future and work backward, so they can build their organization for that new reality. He shares practical steps managers can take to look beyond the typical short-term planning horizon and help their teams grasp future opportunities. Johnson is the coauthor of the HBR article "Leaders, Do You Have a Clear Vision for the Post-Crisis Future?" and the book "Lead from the Future: How to Turn Visionary Thinking into Breakthrough Growth."

Transcript

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0:00.0	How do you navigate gender in your workplace?
0:04.0	HBR's fan favorite podcast Women at Work is back with personal stories, the newest research,
0:09.2	and practical advice on navigating disability, career failures, and joining a board.
0:14.0	Listen for free to H-BRA's women at work wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the HBRADIAcast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Kurtnickish.
0:37.0	Even in the best of times, developing the right strategy for your company can be a challenge.
0:48.0	You have to worry about the now, while also planning for an uncertain future.
0:52.0	And in a time of crisis, picking and... while also planning for an uncertain future.
0:52.7	And in a time of crisis, picking and sticking to a strategy
0:56.2	can be even more overwhelming.
0:58.0	The present is all-consuming and the future is even less clear than before.
1:03.0	Take the coronavirus pandemic.
1:04.8	If you're in health care, education, retail, or many other industries, the future you had
1:09.7	been planning for is not necessarily the one you're going to face.
1:13.0	Today's guest says too many leaders in their strategic decision-making make the
1:17.8	mistake of looking at the present as a starting point.
1:20.8	And he says especially now good leaders should be starting with the
1:24.4	future and working backward he calls this taking a future back approach rather than a
1:29.6	present forward one and he's here to tell us exactly what he means by that. Mark Johnson
1:35.2	is a senior partner of the consulting firm Innesite and he's a co-author of the new book
1:39.7	Lead from the Future, How to turn visionary thinking into breakthrough growth.
1:44.6	Mark, thanks for coming on the show.
1:46.6	Thank you, Kurt.
	...

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