In many organizations, the traditional approach to developing strategy begins in an unstructured way with a strong focus on determining the best final strategy without first agreeing to the inputs to the strategy.

When facing a particularly complex strategy issue, organizations often react by moving along paths that either emphasize the decision making process or emphasize a quick decision and its implementation. If the focus is on the decision making process, the result is often "analysis paralysis" where numerous possibilities are examined in a time and resource consuming manner. If the focus is on reaching a decision quickly, the result is often one executive's shoot-from-the-hip plan which lacks thoughtful analysis, broad-based input and support from the executive team.

Common Solutions Styles Don't
Lead to the Best Outcomes

Additionally, when the moves of other players strongly affect the outcome, strategic directions can be chosen which are unattainable or unstable. Even the best executives have difficultly rigorously examining all the possible combinations and sequences of actions the key players may take.

• Read about the Open Options Process