For most people, strategy is a mysterious thing vaguely linked to a world of competing theoretical schools from a distant time, done by very large global management consultancies to other very large global organisations. Through its complexity, this kind of strategy has lost its ability to help organisations prepare for the future. But most disappointing of all, it has lost its ability to inspire change. Strategy as a tool of change is sliding into irrelevance.
However, a new kind of strategy is emerging, brought about by the rapidly evolving needs of organisations due to the massive disruption caused by the digital revolution. And a new kind of strategist is being born within this new strategic practice – an analytical visionary creative whose knowledge of human behaviour and data allows him or her to help organisations re-orientate their strategic vision towards more agile, customer experience led products & services.
This new emerging strategic practice and strategist currently have no place to call home. They have no codified frameworks or processes (the SWOT and the Boston Box really aren’t fit for purpose in this disrupted age), no forums or meet ups to congregate or co-ordinate in. Most importantly, they have no theoretical basis on which to create new models and frameworks to describe and envision the future for their clients in order to help them protect against disruption and prepare for the future.
The Future Strategy Club (FSC) was created in order to fill this gap.
The FSC wants to create a place strategists and strategic thinkers can call home. But more than that, the FSC wants to harness the strategic brain power of this new emerging strategist to begin to develop a new strategic school and create the procedural support and iterative thinking needed to set the foundations of a new practice.
The FSC is beginning with an Event tour around UK agencies in order to try to reach as much of the current strategic community as possible. Through these quarterly events the FSC aims to kick start the conversation and begin codifying this new strategic practice. In parallel to this, the FSC is launching its Drink Tanks – these are community based strategic thinking groups that will collaboratively output publications, whitepapers and pro-bono strategy work every three months. The first Drink Tank, which will kick in April, aims to collaboratively create and publish a guide to this new modern strategy entitled ‘What the F#@k is Strategy?’. The FSC will also run yearly conferences championing the new heroes of strategy and their strategic work.
Ultimately, the aim of the FSC is to formalise and professionalise this new emerging strategic practice in order to then be able to begin training and developing future strategists and launch them on exciting and rewarding career paths. In doing so, the FSC will reclaim strategy from the grey consultant armies of yesteryear and return it to its creative and visionary heritage so it can again be the inspiring tool of change.
If you are a strategist, or a strategic thinker, come join the FSC and be part of this journey towards a new future for strategy.
The next FSC event is in July.
Justin K Small 