p.77 Many senior Army and DOD leaders have said we need to develop better
strategic thinking skills for the 21st century security environment. The requirement stems from a realization that the complexity,
uncertainty, and ambiguity of the current environment mandates a move away from Cold War methodologies and assumptions. As
recent history suggests, a large gap exists between the Army’s desire to develop strategic thinking skills and what
actually happens.
This article presents a definition of strategic thinking and then focuses
on the two key antecedents of strategic thinking - creative and critical thinking
p.78 Strategic thinking is the ability to make a creative and holistic
synthesis of key factors affecting an organization and its environment in order to obtain sustainable competitive advantage
and long-term success. Strategic thinking meshes anticipated requirements with future organizational capabilities to ensure
the organization "wins" in the future... The core elements of strategic thinking are
the ability to think creatively and critically about national security issues.
p.78 Creative thinking, therefore, is a critical element of strategic thought
and is necessary for successful leadership of our military.
Creativity is the ability to produce novel ideas that others value. Individuals,
groups, and organizations at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels need to be creative to provide new and effective
approaches to challenges and understand the interaction between an organization and its external environment. The national
security and contemporary operating environments are inherently volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Operating effectively
requires leaders who have the sophisticated cognitive skills appropriate for the multiple demands of such environments. They
must learn quickly, adapt when necessary, anticipate the future, be mentally agile and versatile, and look at issues in the
correct contexts.
Creativity requires developing new ideas and concepts that are effective in resolving situations at
hand. Creativity is as much about observing the internal and external environment and finding problems as it is about problem
solving. Particularly at the strategic level, we must be sensitive to how we even define problems, since very often
the specificity or breadth of the problem statement will limit the generation of viable solutions. The terms "novelty," "quality,"
and "appropriateness" are commonly used in definitions of creativity.
p.78 Creative out of necessity, and motivated out of desperation, our adversaries
rapidly adapt to changing circumstances. Our enemies will be creative, so we must be, too. Creativity and innovation must
inform senior leaders in critically deciding what to do and how to do it.
p.81 Opportunities to apply creative thought and critical analysis are ubiquitous in our current tactical
and operational environments... If the army really cares about strategic thinking, it must devote time and resources to its
development.
