To demonstrate how better strategic thinking leads to more successful action, I’m going to show how the Hierarchy of Strategic Thinking (HST) can be applied across very different situations.
This example is about a newly promoted football club competing in the Premier League.
If results fall below expectations, the model is reinforced — personnel and profiles are adjusted quickly to restore performance (adapt).
This is what the HST provides: a clear path from strategic intent to coordinated action — enabling people to identify and make better moves as the situation unfolds.
If you want to explore how to deploy the HST in your organisation — get in touch.
This example is about a newly promoted football club competing in the Premier League.
- Owners aim to establish themselves in the league despite structural disadvantages. The mission is to build a team capable of competing without spending resources they don’t have (grand strategy).
- Established clubs sweep up proven talent at high cost. But not all player value is recognised equally — some are overlooked and undervalued. These gaps are where advantage can be found (situational awareness).
- Build differently: use data-led recruitment to find undervalued players, develop them within a defined system using sports science, analysts and up and coming coaches. Successful players are sold to bigger clubs at a premium, with profits reinvested in the system (stratagems).
- Recruitment, performance and coaching are aligned under a director of football who defines the model and footballing philosophy needed to compete in this league — finding coaches and players who fit it (operational art).
- On the pitch, the team plays with structure and intensity — executing game plans identified for each opponent and drilled in training to outperform more individually talented sides (tactics).
If results fall below expectations, the model is reinforced — personnel and profiles are adjusted quickly to restore performance (adapt).
This is what the HST provides: a clear path from strategic intent to coordinated action — enabling people to identify and make better moves as the situation unfolds.
If you want to explore how to deploy the HST in your organisation — get in touch.
