Six Disciplines Strategic Thinking – Michael Watkins

Strategic clarity doesn’t just happen, it’s practiced, deeply and daily.

In a world where noise drowns nuance and fast beats foresight, this book reclaims the true art of strategic thinking not as accidental insight, but as a learned discipline.

Watkins, internationally acclaimed expert and bestselling author of The First 90 Days, breaks strategy into six mental disciplines:
Pattern recognition, systems analysis, mental agility, structured problem-solving, visioning, and political savvy, each explained with real-world clarity and tested across organizations from startups to global enterprises 

📌 At The Growth Shelf, we believe leadership doesn’t require brilliance, it demands a practice. This book is the handbook for that practice.

💡 Within these pages, you’ll learn how to:

• See patterns beneath the chaos, so you can sense change before it arrives
• Model complexity with simplicity, connecting cause and effect across your world 
• Shift between big picture and detail on command, adapting fluidly as situations unfold 
• Frame problems and lead solutions, not just fix symptoms
• Craft compelling visions that invite others to follow 
• Navigate office dynamics with purpose, building influence without compromising integrity 

Strategic thinking, Watkins argues, is not an inborn talent, it’s built through endowment + experience + exercise. This book invites you to build it intentionally, daily.

👉 This is for the builder, the leader, the system-thinker, who knows the future belongs to those who prepare for it.

Because clarity isn’t a gift. It’s a discipline.