Learning to Think Strategically

The empowerment of women is a broadly endorsed strategy for solving a host of difficult problems, from child poverty to gender violence to international development. The seventeen international scholars in this multi-disciplinary volume offer thoughtful critiques of the notion of empowerment based on their studies in twenty countries in all regions of the world. The comparative introduction places concepts of empowerment in the context of models of the market and of community, showing how contradictions in these models as they are enacted on the ground provide both spaces and constraints for women. The chapters consider opportunities for women in the context of globalization, resurgent nationalism and politicized religion, cultures of masculinity, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. They show how initiatives at national or global levels are transformed by local cultures and power structures, and demonstrate the fruitfulness of tensions between universal values of human rights and contextualized understandings. This landmark, multi-disciplinary collection of original studies by distinguished international feminist scholars will be an essential addition to the fields of Political Science, Women's Studies, Economics, Sociology, International Development, and Environmental Studies.

Table of Contents:
Part I: How did we get Here? 1. Chronology of Strategy 2. Contemporary Competing Views of Strategy 3. Implications of Strategic History on Strategic Learning Part II: How do we Learn to Think Strategically? 4. Definition of Strategic Thinking 5. Informal and Formal Learning Defined 6. Formal Learning Refuted 7. Context and Learning: Transfer as Factors in the Strategic Thinking Process Part III: What does Learning to Think Strategically Look Like? 8. Preparation Stage 9. Experience Stage 10. Re-Evaluation Stage Part IV: How can we Get Started? 11. Overview of Learning Domains used for Strategic Thinking 12. The Surf and Dive Learning Domains Part V: How can we Talk about all This? 13. The Role of Dialogue in the Strategic Thinking Process 14. What is the Role of Inquiry in Critical Dialogue? Part VI: Why does some of this Feel so Familiar? 15. Intuition as a Must-Have for Learning to Think Strategically 16. Framing and the Intuition Factor 17. Shattering Frames 18. Reframing Part VII: ...But what about the Numbers? 19. The Roles of Analysis and Intuition in Strategic Decision Making 20. Decision-Making Approaches to Strategic Thinking 21. Coordinating Intuition and Analysis to Facilitate Strategic Thinking Part VIII: What Role does Culture Play? 22. The Role of Culture in Strategic Thinking 23. The Challenge of Introducing Strategic Thinking across Cultures Part IX: Is Anybody Born with this Know-How? 24. The Five Critical Attributes 25. Interplay of the Five Attributes 26. Adaptation as a Strategic Expectation Part X: How can we become Better Strategic Thinkers? 27. Developing the Five Essential Attributes 28. Developing Critical Reflective Processes 29. Where We’ve Come From and Where We Can Go: Some Suggestions

About the Author :
Julia Sloan is Principal of Sloan International Inc., a new York-based firm specializing in strategic thinking for leaders of businesses, government and international agencies operating in markets of Asia, Europe, the Middle East Africa and North America. She received her doctorate in organizational leadership from Columbia University where she teaches strategic thinking.　

Review :
"Strategic thinking is a discipline of major importance. Julia Sloan's book not only stimulates managers to think more strategically, it also forces them to act more strategically. Combining learning with strategy will inspire both readers and doers of strategy to behave more strategically and to embark on strategy conversations in a renewed and more value adding way." - Flemming Poulfelt, Professor, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark "Learning to Think Strategically is a masterpiece weaving exceptional research into practical application. The power of intuition, framing, and informal learning brings strategic thinking into clear focus. Learning to Think Strategically is required reading for our MBA students." - Richard Okumoto, Lecturer at San Jose State University, USA and Chairman of the Strategy Committee at the Center for Employment Training, Inc. "Entropic one-hit-wonder or the messy and creative success of the Beatles? Julia Sloan's deep work with executives and corporations supports our own walks on the courageous path of the later. Her learning-based model is an individualized experience that forever and again advances the way we think about and form strategy. Sloan additionally writes in an engaging style that brings a rare clarity to this complex topic." - Dr. Douglas Scherer, Major Global Investment Firm "This new edition of Julia Sloan's insightful book, Learning to Think Strategically, is a wonderful addition to the growing literature on strategic thinking and management. This edition discusses the history and importance of thinking strategically and provides important insights that Julia gained from numerous in-depth interviews with successful executives from around the world. Julia discusses the significance of experience, intuition, and dialog in developing strategy and shows how successful strategic thinking transcends culture and is essential for organizational success. The book is highly informative and incisively written. It should be required reading for graduate students in management whether they are focused on the public, nonprofit, or private sectors. All leaders who wish to enhance the success of their organizations will find this work indispensable." - Dr. J. Edward Kellough, Professor and Department Head, Department of Public Administration and Policy, The University of Georgia, USA "It has recently become clear that what distinguishes exceptionally successful leaders and strategists is their ability to critically challenge their own deeply-rooted assumptions, adapt to change, and to have the wisdom to courageously seize the opportunities that change creates. In this book, Julia Sloan, uses her long experience of working with global firms and government leaders to demonstrate how strategic thinking, as well as transformation is possible and how it is done - both from a theoretical and practical perspective. With its universal and integrated approach, this book is destined to become a standard in challenging the conventional wisdom about strategy and bringing thinking and innovation into what we do and what we plan to do." - Dr. Khalid Al-Yahya, Managing Director, Accenture Management Consulting - Middle East; Fmr Associate at Harvard Kennedy School of Government "Julia Sloan has written a first rate book on strategic thinking. She makes a unique contribution by exploring the cognitive basis of what it means to think strategically, skillfully presenting insights that executives can use to spot strategic thinking in individuals and build strategic capacity in their own organizations. Sloan combines erudition with practical application, something that is seldom found in the literature on strategy. A must read for executives and leaders aspiring to build strategic organizations." - Ross Harrison, Professor at Georgetown University, USA