Back in the mid-1980s when I was a management consultant, I often used methods that I had read about in the book, "The Mind of the Strategist: The art of Japanese business" by Kenichi Ohmae, Director of McKinsey & Company, Inc. (McGraw-Hill).
The sole purpose of strategic planning is to enable an organization to gain, as efficiently as possible, a sustainable edge over its competition. This implies an attempt to alter the organization's strengths relative to that of its competitors. Isolating strategic technical and marketing strengths (absolute versus relative strengths) determines how to compete wisely.
The starting point in analysis is to determine the critical issues. This helps in solving the problem, planning for implementation and then taking action. Here are the 10 steps of the process:
1. List the concrete phenomena
2. Grouping the phenomena
3. Abstraction
4. Determination of Approach (very concrete and specific)
5. Formulation of hypothetical solutions
6. Validation or rebuttal of hypothetical solutions by in-depth analysis
7. Emergence of conclusion
8. Giving concrete form to conclusions
9. Draft plan of actions
10. Implementation by line managers
Today, in Japan, there is a new book by a former McKinsey consultant that is meant to help middle and high school students think like a consultant. "The World's Easiest Problem-Solving Class" by Kensuke Watanabe has become an adult best-seller in Japan. This 117-page paperback offers two case studies: a kids' band looking to increase concert attendance and a teenager saving to buy a computer. Both use 'business' graphics like logic trees, along with cute drawings. This simple approach also appeals to adult readers. Perhaps, an American publisher will decide to translate and publish this book for the U.S. marketplace....