The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking

International bestselling author of The First 90 Days Michael D. Watkins presents an actionable framework for business strategy to help aspiring leaders learn to think strategically and improve their decision-making—a set of skills more necessary than ever in a world of constant change. Pattern recognition. Systems perspective. Mental agility. Structured problem-solving. Visioning. Political savvy. For every good leader who has mastered of one of these disciplines is a great leader who knows and has mastered all of them. Michael D. Watkins, an expert on leadership transitions and organizational success, returns to the page with a new how-to guide for leadership development. Here, he presents the six disciplines that separate the great from the good. Developed over the course of his storied career, Watkins’ results-oriented approach to strategic thinking and problem-solving—"a set of mental disciplines leaders use to recognize potential threats and opportunities, establish priorities, and mobilize themselves and their organizations to envision and enact promising paths forward"—is the model followed by some of today’s most successful first-time CEOs and new business leaders. The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking is a comprehensive and practical guide to strategic thinking, offering a wealth of insights and management skills for leaders at all levels. This comprehensive guide delivers the leadership skills you need to succeed:- Pattern Recognition: Identify critical threats and opportunities by seeing the crucial patterns in a sea of noise.- Systems Analysis: Build powerful mental models of complex business situations to make better predictions and develop more promising strategies.- Mental Agility: Master level-shifting to see both the forest and the trees, moving from the 50,000-foot view down to the critical details.- Political Savvy: Understand the art of influence to navigate organizational politics and build the alliances needed to drive your agenda forward.

Michael D. Watkins is a professor of leadership and organizational change at the IMD Business School and a cofounder of Genesis Advisers. In 2023, he was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in recognition of his decades of contributions to management and leadership. Originally from Canada, Michael received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo, did graduate work in law and business at the University of Western Ontario, and completed his Ph.D. in decision sciences at Harvard University. He subsequently was a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Business School and an affiliate faculty member at the Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation. Michael is the author of sixteen books, including Right From the Start (with Dan Ciampa), The First 90 Days, Shaping the Game, and Master Your Next Move. The First 90 Days has been called “the onboarding bible” by the Economist and is an Amazon “100 Leadership and Success Books to Read in a Lifetime.” An international bestseller, it has also been translated into 20 languages. He is also the author or co-author of dozens of articles on leadership in the Harvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review. In addition to his research and writing, Michael coaches C-level executives taking new roles, supports leadership team development at senior levels, and consults extensively on organizational transformation.