A Framework for Leadership and Strategy Prof. Jeremi Suri Univ A Framework for Leadership and Strategy Prof. Jeremi Suri Univ. of Texas at Austin http://jeremisuri.net
What is Strategic Leadership? Situating your Organization (Mission and Context) Assessing Opportunities (Leverage and Tipping Points) 3. Avoiding Distractions (Urgent v. Important)
Henry Ford was wrong…
Transformative Leaders Think Historically
Why history? Laboratory of human experience Lessons and best practices Comfort, Confidence, Connection Empathy Anticipation Imagination
What is history? NYC 1930s
King Kong on Empire State Building
What is history? Pablo Picasso, “Guernica” Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Republican government commissioned Picasso to create a large mural for the Spanish display at the Paris International Exposition at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris.
Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, 4 March 1865 (one month before Confederate surrender at Appomattox, 9 April 1865)
“Time Streams” 1. Continuities, discontinuities 2. Long past, long-term consequences 3. Holistic thinking 4. Imagining the future from the past 5. Centers of gravity 6. Inflections
False Analogies Test Evidence: did things really happen that way? Test Relevance: is that precedent relevant for today? Test Framing: is that analogy the correct question for today?
Useful Analogies What is known? What is presumed? What is unclear? Similarities versus differences. What are the real options?