You should read this if… you want to strengthen strategy by improving how your organisation thinks, not just how it plans. This article draws on Maree Conway’s work to clearly distinguish strategic thinking from strategic planning, arguing that effective strategy depends on the ability to imagine and explore future possibilities before locking in actions and plans. It explains strategic thinking as a deliberate, ongoing practice that helps leaders make sense of uncertainty, challenge assumptions, and consider multiple futures, providing the foundation for more coherent, future‑ready decisions rather than plans built solely on past trends or short‑term operational priorities.

You should read this if… you are a CEO or board member looking for a proven, structured way to move beyond short‑term planning and actively shape your organisation’s future. This article introduces Sohail Inayatullah’s Six Pillars of Futures Thinking—mapping, anticipating, timing, deepening, creating alternatives, and transforming—as a comprehensive framework for understanding change and designing preferred futures rather than defaulting to inherited or “used” ones. It explains how the six pillars help leaders recover strategic agency, challenge dominant assumptions, explore alternative pathways, and align action with long‑term transformation in an increasingly complex and uncertain world.

You should read this if… you are a strategic thinker seeking a clear, end‑to‑end way to integrate futures thinking into strategy rather than treating foresight as an isolated activity. This article introduces Joseph Voros’s Generic Foresight Process Framework, which lays out a structured sequence from scanning and sense‑making through to generating insights that directly inform strategy development and planning. It explains how the framework helps organisations systematically explore alternative futures, diagnose gaps in how foresight and strategy are currently practiced, and design more robust, adaptable decision‑making processes—turning foresight into a practical, repeatable capability rather than a one‑off exercise.