Strategic

Thinking

Dr. Allen Amason Dean, College of Business

Georgia Southern University

Georgia Bankers Association

May 2017

What is Strategic Thinking?

Seeing connections between seemingly

unconnected factors

Understanding the dynamics between the

forces that drive economic factors

Using these insights to gain competitive

advantage

Think about an example…

The College of Business at GSU:

- Undergraduate / Graduate 3,800 students

- 171 Full time faculty & staff

- 6 Academic Depts, 7 undergraduate majors, 3

MS/MBA, 1 PhD program, Exec Ed

- 24,000 alumni

- Gross Revenue / Budget ~ $24mil

- External accreditation, w/review (AACSB)

- Two locations, Statesboro / Savannah

How do we think strategically?

– Enrollments, graduates

– Program breadth & identity

– Rankings, Prestige

– Teaching, Research & Service

– Donations, endowments, premium funding

– Placements & alumni network

– Consolidation with Armstrong State

Think about an example…

Why are strategic thinking & decision

making so difficult and so ineffective?

– Uncertainty is uncertain…

– It’s all about the Benjamins…

– Aggregation isn’t easy…

The Basic Problem(s)…

Uncertainty is Uncertain…

Near

Term Intermediate

Term Long

Term

T0 Tn

Uncertainty is Uncertain…

Who else thinks this way?

But how can

you plan for

what you

can’t know?

How can this

really help?

Plan more; put less confidence in your plans.

It’s all about the Benjamins…

“However elegant the strategy, you should

occasionally look at the results.”

Strategy, innovation,

leadership, and

management share a

common and harsh

reality; they are all

judged on the results.

It’s all about the Benjamins…

This area

represents the

value created in

the exchange and

is divided between

profit and

consumer surplus

Use Value

Exchange Value

Total Cost

Surplus

Profit

- Value is in the eye

of the beholder

- Perceptions of

value drive

exchange

- Understand the

transaction

currency.

- Drive Elasticity.

Aggregation Isn’t Easy…

Organizational outcomes are really

aggregations of multiple, individual actions

and outcomes.

- Each program has limited

autonomy and distinct

measures.

- Specialization & integration

- Every action is either

productive, unproductive, or

counter-productive.

Aggregation Isn’t Easy…

We are often our

own worst enemy,

designing, rewarding

and communicating

B, yet planning and

hoping for A.

Actively pursue misalignment and

diligently diagnose its cause.

Aggregation Isn’t Easy…

Worry less about agreement; worry more

about alignment.

Horizontal

Alignment

Vertical

Alignment

Strategic

Congruence

The Basic Solutions(s)…

We need to practice strategic planning,

thinking & decision making differently.

– Plan more but with less certainty.

– Focus on and use the right currency.

– Agreement is not alignment; and alignment

matters more.

Questions?

The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (Mintzberg,

1994)

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to create uncontested market

space and make competition irrelevant (Kim &

Marbourne, 2005)

Strategic Management: From Theory to Practice

(Amason, 2011)