Open Strategy: Redefining Strategic Decision-Making for the Modern Era

In an era defined by disruption and rapid change, traditional approaches to strategy are falling short. The complexities of modern business demand a more inclusive, agile, and innovative way of thinking. Enter Open Strategy—a paradigm that challenges the exclusivity of boardroom decision-making by inviting diverse voices into the process.

Prof. Dr. Christian Stadler, Professor of Strategic Management at Warwick Business School, has been a leading advocate of Open Strategy. Speaking on our Innovation Rockstars podcast, Dr. Stadler shared insights into this transformative approach, which blends inclusivity and structure to address today’s business challenges.

Simplifying strategy for maximum impact

For many organizations, the concept of strategy is cloaked in complexity. Elaborate frameworks and jargon often alienate employees and obscure the core objective: addressing critical problems. Dr. Stadler offers a refreshingly simple lens: “Identify your most important problems as an organization, and then think whether you have a way to address them. That’s the sweet spot where you should concentrate your strategy.”

Identify your most important problems as an organization, and then think whether you have a way to address them. That’s the sweet spot where you should concentrate your strategy.

Breaking it down into three key questions—“Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?”—Dr. Stadler underscores the importance of clarity and focus in strategic thinking. This simplicity makes strategy accessible to everyone, not just senior executives.

Why Open Strategy is the future of business

Traditional strategy often isolates decision-making within the C-suite, relying on a top-down approach. While effective in certain contexts, this method faces growing limitations:

• Disconnect from ground realities: Frontline employees, customers, and external stakeholders are rarely involved in decisions that directly affect them.
• Employee resistance: Top-down strategies can lead to passive resistance or lack of buy-in from teams, delaying implementation.
• A need for diverse perspectives: As businesses grapple with disruption and change, input from varied sources has become crucial for sustainable success.

Open strategy addresses these gaps by involving a broader array of voices. “It’s not about turning a company into a democracy,” explains Dr. Stadler, “but about consulting large groups of people smartly and effectively.”

4 Practical tools to implement Open Strategy

1. Strategy jams 

Strategy jams are large-scale, time-bound discussions that invite diverse participants to collaboratively address strategic questions. Dr Stadler shares a notable example from Barclays’ transformation in 2012 under Ashok Vaswani. Facing the rise of digital banking, Barclays held a three-day jam involving 30,000 employees across the UK to shape the bank’s future and address concerns about digitization.

One standout insight compared Domino’s Pizza’s real-time order tracking to Barclays’ limited mortgage updates, highlighting a critical gap in customer communication. (Why is it that you know more about the status of your pizza delivery than your mortgage application?!) This spurred the development of Barclays’ first mobile app, launched shortly after the jam, which gained a million users almost overnight and now boasts over nine million users.

The jam not only led to one of the UK’s most successful fintech products but also fostered a digital-first culture, empowering employees and customers alike to embrace the digital age. Through broad engagement, Barclays transformed from a 325-year-old legacy bank into a digital banking leader.

2. Nightmare competitor exercise

A standout tool in Open Strategy is the “nightmare competitor exercise,” which asks teams to imagine hypothetical rivals capable of disrupting their business. By identifying potential threats from non-existent but plausible competitors, organizations can prepare for disruptions with greater urgency and creativity.

Dr. Stadler explains, “If something is seen as a substantial threat, I’ll act. I’ll do it immediately. But if it’s just an opportunity, we often say, ‘Yes, great,’ but we’ll do it tomorrow because today we need to run our business.” This exercise shifts focus from incremental improvements to existential threats, forcing organizations to act decisively.

If something is seen as a substantial threat, I’ll act. I’ll do it immediately. But if it’s just an opportunity, we often say, ‘Yes, great,’ but we’ll do it tomorrow because today we need to run our business.

Teams engage in a “Shark Tank”-style format, brainstorming and competing to present the most disruptive competitor. Voting and feedback rounds foster diverse ideas, particularly when external voices are included. “Half of the participants should come from outside the organization,” says Dr. Stadler. “That’s where you really open up and bring fresh ideas into the process.”

3. Incremental pilots

Incremental pilots are small-scale experiments designed to test and refine strategic initiatives before broader implementation. This approach minimizes risk, providing valuable feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Dr. Stadler champions this method, explaining, “I’m a big fan of experimentation in the strategy domain.” He likens it to A/B testing—a way to run multiple versions of an idea to find the best one.

A notable example comes from Dr. Oetker, which first tested Open Strategy techniques in its smaller cereal business. Once proven successful, the approach was scaled to the company’s larger frozen pizza division. This stepwise progression ensured lessons learned were applied effectively, building confidence and reducing resistance within the organization.
Pilots allow organizations to experiment with innovative ideas, refine processes, and build internal momentum. As Dr. Stadler notes, “You do a little experiment here, figure out what works, and then scale it up. It doesn’t mean that something that initially doesn’t work kills the approach for all time.” It’s just part of the process.

4. AI-driven divergent thinking

AI-driven divergent thinking uses artificial intelligence to generate diverse, innovative ideas that challenge traditional assumptions. Tools like ITONICS' Smart Ideation platform have demonstrated their ability to match, and often surpass, human creativity in originality and elaboration. In an own experiment comparing ideas created by our Smart Ideation tool against ideas from experts in innovation and technology, few participants could distinguish between the human- and AI-generated ideas.

Dr. Stadler’s research with Martin Reeves of the BCG Henderson Institute also underscores this potential. In experiments with AI tools like ChatGPT, they found that “the best, most experienced strategists probably benefit the most from engaging with this tool. It’s highly convincing the way this tool responds, but you need to know how to ask questions and maybe push it in a certain direction.”

AI-driven ideation tools are not just augmenting human creativity—they are proving essential for accelerating strategic breakthroughs and delivering impactful outcomes.

Assessing readiness for Open Strategy

Before diving into Open Strategy, it’s essential to assess whether your organization is ready for this approach. Dr. Stadler suggests four reflective questions to gauge your comfort with openness, improvisation, and experimentation:

1. Are you a Prince of Serendip? Inspired by the tale of three princes who benefited from unexpected opportunities, this question asks if you are comfortable embracing unforeseen outcomes. In Open Strategy, not every step can be meticulously planned. Success often depends on adaptability and leveraging serendipitous insights. Can you let go of rigid control and trust the process to unfold?
2. Are you a Sebastian Bach or a Miles Davis? Bach symbolizes precision, structure, and order, while Miles Davis represents the improvisational spirit of jazz. This comparison highlights whether you prefer sticking to pre-defined, systematic processes or thrive in dynamic environments where flexibility and innovation take precedence. If the latter resonates with you, Open Strategy could align with your leadership style.
3. Do you lead like Adele? Adele’s success goes beyond her individual talent; it’s also rooted in her ability to collaborate and amplify the contributions of others. This question invites you to assess whether you can empower your team, trust their expertise, and create a collaborative environment where diverse ideas shape the strategy.
4. Can you think like a pirate? At NASA, “pirate” teams were empowered to break norms and innovate with unconventional ideas. This question asks if you can champion creativity and encourage non-traditional thinkers to challenge the status quo, even when their approaches might initially seem unorthodox or disruptive.

Once you’re ready, start small. Experiment with Open Strategy in less critical areas to minimize risk and learn what works. Dr. Oetker exemplified this by piloting Open Strategy techniques in its cereal division before scaling to its flagship frozen pizza business. Small-scale successes can build momentum for larger transformations.

In a similar vein, you do not need to go all in on Open Strategy, all the time. "It's not black and white. There is some sort of continuum, where you either open up a little more, a little less, depending on the circumstances.”

It's not black and white. There is some sort of continuum, where you either open up a little more, a little less, depending on the circumstances.

And he admits, it’s not right in every case—like when there are legal barriers, proprietary information to protect, or even simply a lack of commitment from leadership. His advice to CEOs is, “If you don't really want to do it, you're better off not doing it.” Raising expectations and not following through can damage trust and credibility within the organization. 

ITONICS: Enabling Open Strategy

ITONICS Innovation OS transforms Open Strategy into actionable outcomes with tools designed for collaboration, insights, and agility.

• Harness diverse perspectives: Engage internal and external stakeholders through ITONICS’ crowdsourcing tools, collaborative evaluation, interactive trend radars, and transparent workflows.
• Leverage AI for insights: Accelerate Open Strategy development and execution with AI-powered capabilities at the core of the ITONICS Innovation OS—for automated trend monitoring, instant idea generation, and data-driven recommendations.
• Adapt strategically: Respond to change with real-time scenario analysis, roadmapping tools, and continuous KPI tracking to ensure your strategy evolves effectively.

Ready to unlock your organization’s potential? Book a demo today and experience ITONICS in action.