Strategic planning is done in a static moment to look forward, and strategic decisions are made, sometimes frequently and with great impact, between those planning windows. Both of those activities require a critical element: strategic thinking. This is one the most sought-after capabilities in leadership roles, yet one of the hardest to develop. This video series is a combination of 10 videos, 6 interviews, and a webinar recording included at the end. It was developed early during the pandemic to help the many companies, large and small, who were going through dramatic and rapid strategic shifts. There are many ways to be a strategic thinker, and this series doesn’t propose a singular method but helps you find and development the approach that best fits you.

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Strategy as an Integrated Approach

Effective strategy requires mastering multiple dimensions—Plan, Ploy, Pattern, Position, and Perspective. See how leaders like Bezos and Branson integrate all five elements, why single-dimensional strategies fall short, and how to develop more flexible strategic thinking capabilities.

Chuck Wisner, President of Wisner Consulting, joined Jamie Flinchbaugh on the People Solve Problems podcast to share his insights on improving human dynamics in conversations. With 25 years of experience advising Fortune 200 companies, Chuck has developed a unique approach to understanding and enhancing how people interact.

Chuck introduced the concept of the “conversational bypass,” a common pitfall in problem-solving and decision-making. He explained that people often jump from storytelling directly to action, skipping over the crucial middle steps of collaboration and creativity. This tendency can lead to hasty decisions and missed opportunities for innovative solutions.

To combat this issue, Chuck emphasized the importance of conscious effort in conversations. He suggested that both individuals and groups need to take responsibility for fostering more productive dialogues. For individuals, this means being willing to set aside one’s ego and perspective, opening up to different viewpoints. In group settings, leaders should encourage taking extra time to hear all perspectives without judgment or bickering.

Chuck shared four key elements to consider in conversations: desires and goals, concerns about the future, authority issues, and standards. By examining these aspects, people can better understand the thinking behind their perspectives and share them more effectively with others.

The discussion then turned to the importance of learning in conversations. Chuck stressed that while making decisions is often the perceived goal, the real product of these interactions is the learning that occurs. He advised that to ensure learning is at the center of a conversation, individuals must set aside their judgments and private conversations to truly listen and absorb others’ positions.

Chuck also explored the role of self-awareness in changing conversational patterns. He shared a personal anecdote about recognizing and altering his own trigger responses with his children, illustrating how awareness can lead to positive change in communication habits.

The conversation shifted to creativity and intuition, with Chuck highlighting the importance of embracing the right side of the brain in problem-solving. He encouraged listeners to give themselves permission to dream and wonder about possibilities, moving away from resignation and towards openness.

Chuck also discussed his journey in writing his book, “The Art of Conscious Conversations: Transforming How We Talk, Listen, and Interact.” He revealed how the process helped him overcome his own limiting beliefs about his writing abilities and provided a structure for connecting various communication tools and concepts.

For those interested in learning more about Chuck’s work and insights, his website can be found at chuckwisner.com, and his book is available at https://a.co/d/5dw54us. You can also connect with Chuck on LinkedIn.

Many organizations have formed teams dedicated to the work of Lean, Continuous Improvement, OpEx, or whatever other term you prefer. These teams range from large centralized teams to distributed resources, to sole individuals. Regardless of the size and structure of the team, goals likely have to be set. While one might be tempted to explore how goals can be counterproductive, this isn’t the place for that exploration, as most organizations are firmly entrenched with a formal system of goal-setting at some level.

What are the appropriate goals for these teams? You will need to strike a balance between internal customer goals and vision-oriented goals. 

When the team’s entire work output is focused on serving internal customers and helping those internal customers be more successful, your goals should be based on their goals. What is the organization trying to accomplish? Is it focused on increasing margins, improving speed, or being more agile? Alignment to what the organization needs to accomplish from a performance perspective allows you to serve those internal customers. 

The other side of the balance is the ideal state.  The lean team exists in part to bring the organization along its journey toward an ideal state. This includes the evolution of your systems and processes, the shaping of culture, and the building of capabilities such as problem solving. You can’t achieve this vision while jumping from problem to problem, playing organizational whack-a-mole. To maintain your trajectory toward the ideal state you need goals that focus your attention on the work of building the organization.

You must balance these two sets of goals. Consider your set of goals like a slider between 100% “customer need” focus and 100% “build the organization” focus. The extremes should be avoided. When CI teams focus entirely on internal needs, they often become very short-term focused and lose the essence of the vision. These groups frequently deteriorate to the least common denominator of their work, becoming on-demand facilitators and project managers.

Just as dangerous is being too focused on your vision at the expense of the needs of your internal customers. These teams tend to lose relevance and build too much infrastructure which increases the burden on the organization rather than helping it perform better. It is well intended but misguided in application.

Stay somewhere between 80/20 and 20/80, but where you fall on that spectrum should depend on the situation and will likely change over time. So, what kind of situations are we talking about? It requires a lot of organizational savviness to make a real determination, but several factors have an impact. One of the most important is how passionate and powerful your most senior-level support is. Another is how much transition the organization is challenged with, whether that transition is driven by an organizational change, a crisis, or even rapid growth. Consider how many advocates you have distributed within the organization, who can help bridge the gap between your vision and their needs.

A powerful variable in all of this is the relative maturity of your lean journey. A very mature lean organization (a) has full confidence in the effectiveness of its lean thinking and skills and (b) can handle the majority of the application on its own. This allows a central lean team to focus on the capability, systems, and culture that enables that maturity to sustain and grow.

The last thought to leave you with: be flexible. I have observed too many groups that get stubbornly locked into a singular strategy and fail to adjust as their situation changes.

Management systems isn’t the most fun topic, but it’s one of the most vital for any leader at any level to deliver consistent results. Effective leaders treat their management systems like top racing drivers treat their instruments and controls – it’s as vital as the engine and steering.

Learn about how to think about your management systems, how to design them, and how to keep them from being burdensome and wasteful. This 8 video series is a great opportunity for a leadership team to watch, learn, and apply together, and also a great way for brand new managers to get a handle on a new aspect of their work.

Watch the Management Systems videos on YouTube

Introduction

What is a Management System?

Your management system functions like an aircraft’s instrument panel, guiding organizational performance by focusing attention on critical indicators, providing clear direction, detecting early problems, and monitoring behind-the-scenes risks. Discover why this matters for teams of any size.

Why Should You Care

Most leaders underestimate their management systems’ impact. Learn how these frameworks create crucial vertical and horizontal alignment, build performance confidence, prevent outdated priorities from consuming resources, optimize capacity, and establish the foundation for genuine improvement.

The Mechanisms

Explore how calendar management, meeting structures, metrics, reports, and communication channels function as an integrated system. See why combining and simplifying these elements beats adding complexity, and how to avoid the “Christmas tree effect” of initiative overload.

Principles of Design

Discover what makes management systems energizing rather than bureaucratic. Learn why the work itself must be the customer, how to balance adaptability with stability, and how the trio of slowification, simplification, and amplification creates superior outcomes.

Brian DeVries, Senior Advisor at Lean Fox Solutions, joined Jamie Flinchbaugh on the People Solve Problems podcast to share his insights on problem-solving methodologies and leadership. Brian recently authored a children’s book, “The Big Thinking of a Small Knight,” which teaches leadership and continuous improvement principles through storytelling.  

Brian explained his preferred problem-solving approach, the nine-box methodology, which begins with what he calls a “rally cry” – a clear, concise problem statement that teams can consistently return to throughout the process. He shared a compelling story about a meeting where team members wrote down their understanding of the problem they were trying to solve, only to discover that no two descriptions matched. This experience reinforced the importance of having a unified understanding of the problem at hand.  

The conversation explored the significance of breaking down complex problems into manageable pieces. Brian described how he looks for specific triggers that indicate when a problem needs to be broken down, such as when teams struggle with measuring improvements or when the path forward isn’t clear. He drew parallels to personal health goals, where large objectives are achieved through smaller, actionable daily steps.  

One of the most powerful moments Brian shared was from his work with a nonprofit organization, where a program participant remarked, “I didn’t know my mind could think about a problem that way.” This experience highlighted the transformative power of teaching problem-solving skills and continues to inspire his work today.  

Brian emphasized the crucial role of psychological safety in creating an effective problem-solving culture. He shared a personal story from his early days as a manufacturing supervisor, where showing vulnerability and admitting his lack of knowledge to his team helped build trust and led to significant improvements over time. This approach exemplifies his belief that leaders should be intentional about creating an environment where it’s safe to make mistakes and learn from them.  

Throughout the conversation, Brian demonstrated his passion for helping others develop their problem-solving capabilities and creating environments where people feel empowered to contribute their ideas. His approach combines structured methodologies with human-centered leadership principles.  

To learn more about Brian’s work and perspectives, visit his websites at https://www.devriesii.com/ and https://leanfoxsolutions.com/, connect with him on LinkedIn

Be sure to check out his children’s book at https://www.amazon.com/Big-Thinking-Small-Knight/dp/B0DW1LB3HZ/.

How do the laws of science apply to leadership? How do you get a team to move forward, and what do you do once they are moving forward? In this video, we’ll explore Newton’s First Law of Motion, the Law of Inertia, as well as concepts of Activation Energy and Drag Force to help explain the role of a leader in driving and shaping change.

Every problem-solver hits walls, no matter how experienced they are. The difference between success and failure often comes down to how you handle those stuck moments. In this white paper, I’ll share the four proven ways you can break through when you’re stuck on a tough problem.

Download the From Stuck to Solved White Papers Here

Let’s take a deep dive into building effective help chains in organizations. While andon (or help chain) systems are often associated with manufacturing, I explain how any organization can use these principles to surface and solve problems faster.

Download the Making Andon Work White Papers Here

Explore how organizations and individuals can get better returns through intentional learning. Using examples like the Wright Brothers, I show how learning, not just training, drives real innovation and growth.

Download the Learning as the Best Return on Invested Effort White Papers Here

Challenge the traditional time management approach. It’s not about squeezing more into your day, but about focusing on what truly matters. I explain how to identify what deserves your attention and practical ways to manage distractions.

Download the Forget Time Management. Manage Your Attention White Papers Here