Julia Sloan - Learning to Think Strategically

Praise for the third edition

Sloan has written a superb book that should be on the required reading list of every business executive and every business school. It offers a new perspective for both students and executives and is an indispensable roadmap for everyone who is willing to learn to think strategically.

Karl Nigl, Fmr. CEO Raiffaisen Bank, Austria AG

Sloan has written an exceptional, comprehensive book on the learning aspect of strategic thinking that makes a unique contribution to the strategy literature. Based on a masterful examination of how we learn to think strategically, this book offers an insightful, unconventional, and original proposition for developing strategic thinkers. Sloan is both erudite and practical in her approach. Highly recommended for policy and business leaders who aspire to strengthen strategic thinking.

Professor Kenneth Paul Tan, Vice Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore; author of Governing Global-City Singapore

At the heart of strategy is the strategist, so it follows both that the strategic thinking of individuals is worth developing. Julias book clearly shows how people can learn to become better strategists, which is why it is so valuable for executive development.

Dr. Max McKeown, author of The Strategy Book and #NOW

The starting point for many writers who focus on strategy is on the process side of strategy-making. Sloan is a pioneer in helping us understand that process and planning are necessary, yet insufficient elements of what it takes to be a successful strategic thinker. In her third edition Sloan takes us further and deeper in our comprehension of what it means to think strategically within complex environments and how to build strategic capacity. A must-read for executives and leaders aspiring to build strategic organizations.

Professor Ross Harrison, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, USA; author of Strategic Thinking in 3D: A Guide for National Security, Foreign Policy and Business Professionals

Dr. Sloan uses her astute research acumen to judiciously detail the findings of how successful executives from different cultures learned to think strategically; then compiled them into this important book. This discerning and unconventional work will stimulate you to learn to think differently, and to eventually evolve your own strategy within an uncontrollable, unpredictable business environment. Most highly recommended book for business and policy leaders.

Ahmed Elsherbini A. Ibrahim, Brigadier General; former Egyptian Defense Attach to Beijing, China

Strategic thinking has become a core competency for business leaders globally. Overused and under-defined, the term is often used interchangeably with other strategic management terms. This textbook delineates and defines strategic thinking as an advanced, conceptual cognitive capability, focusing on the nonlinear, divergent, a-rational, and informal nature of strategic thinking. This unique and practical text is an original primer of how successful strategists learn to think strategically.

In this fourth edition, the author offers an expanded definition of strategic thinking based on critical theory. This book highlights the role of informal learning, underscores the relevance of engaging in the arts, and has global application for those tasked with making strategy in this rapidly changing world. Sloan presents a previously unexamined account of the relationship between strategic thinking and the learning process involved taking learning from the academic to the everyday. New features include an expanded list of learning methods to develop strategic thinking, a more extensive look at global cultural perspectives of strategic thinking, additional scenarios and case vignettes, and online resources comprising test bank questions and lecture slides.

This book is vital reading for MBA, Strategy, Leadership Development, and Executive Education students. The practical nature of this book also makes it valuable for business and policy executives, as well as managers and emerging leaders looking to develop their strategic thinking skills.

Julia Sloan is a professor of strategic thinking at Columbia University, USA, and Principal of Sloan International, Inc., a New York-based consulting firm specializing in strategic thinking for global business and government leaders. A Fulbright Fellow and Researcher-in-Residence Fellow, she has also been recognized with numerous teaching awards.

Fourth Edition

Fourth edition published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2020 Julia Sloan

The right of Julia Sloan to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

First edition published by Butterworth-Heinemann 2006
Second edition published by Routledge 2014
Third edition published by Routledge 2017

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested

ISBN: 978-0-367-14145-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-14146-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-03052-9 (ebk)

Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

Visit the companion website: www.routledge.com/cw/sloan

Julia Sloan is a global executive development consultant, professor, and speaker working with leading corporations and international agencies. With more than two decades of expatriate corporate experience, Julia has lived and continues to work extensively in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North America. Her client base consists of the top most innovative companies and major businesses representing technology, manufacturing, consumer products, petroleum, and finance.

Julias research interests include strategic thinking in relation to learning theory and social-culture theory. She teaches at Columbia University, has been on the faculty of the Brookings Institution, and was named as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series at Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (UAE). Julia has lectured at MIT, Tokyo University, India Institute of Management, Beijing University, Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, and King Saud University and the Institute of Public Administration in Saudi Arabia. In addition to working in the corporate sector, Julia also consults for the United Nations and UN Peacekeeping Operations.