The natural way to think strategically is to identify your important and longer-term ends and then deploy your means – resources, capabilities, time and energy – to achieve the objectives that lead you like stepping-stones towards the desired result. You will notice that the setting of these intermediate targets, objectives of goals signifies that you have moved beyond strategic thinking and into strategic planning.

Strategy is a military concept by origin. Its transfer to the business field – and to organizational life more generally – was attended by much muddled thinking and misconception about it.

There is, however, a creative alternative. A cause must come before an effect, but there is no similar logic that says an and must come before the means. Bu creative thinking about your resources and capabilities – using not just your own imagination but that of others in the organization – new intermediate ends can hatch our from the means at your disposal. But the process does take some creative thinking

An obvious example in the business context is the development of new products from one's existing resources, which are strategic in the sense that they create important and long-term value businesses within the overall business. In time these can hived off to form self-standing product/profit centres.

Strategic thinking should be distinguished from strategic planning. It is essentially one from of end-and-means (as opposed, for example, to cause-and-effect)

You should always be able to think one level up from a strategic end – which is the next higher level to which it is a means? Generals, for example, pursue military ends which are means to a political end. Business leaders serve ends (profitable growth, etc.) which are means to a social end.

Here you can use the internet or intranet system to good advantage. As one CEO said, "Information technology is wonderful because it makes rich exchanges possible without formal structures".

Your essential function here is to determine with others the direction the organization takes. The measure of your strategic thinking is whether or not. It influences the way people think about what is possible, desirable and necessary.

Means can be seen as creative resources and capabilities, throwing us new ends. In creative strategic thinking of this kind, it is essential that members of an organization, not just those in senior leadership roles, can themselves think creatively and strategically.

With creative strategic thinking it is essential to draw upon the whole "collective wisdom" of the organization, which is not confined to those in operational or team leadership role.