In previous installments I have explored the issues of strategic thinking and strategic planning. The feedback l have received has shown that people cannot differentiate between the two. I have noticed the same confusion when I host strategic planning retreats where l am often asked to distinguish between the two. I will in this installment unpack the distinction between the two.
There is some scholarly overview found in the June 1998 volume 31 of Long Range Planning. In a very high-level discussion by Loizos Heracleous entitled "Strategic Thinking or Strategic Planning?" Heracleous presents a variety of perspectives from business academicians differentiating between the two. While these scholarly discussions are intellectually stimulating, we are left lacking a simple and practical explanation to differentiate between the two.
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