Toward High Involvement Strategy Formation: Conversations and Decisions that Matter

Abstract

Traditional modes of crafting strategy have been criticized as overly rational and partial in nature. A major deficiency of traditional strategy making is that most minds within the organization are not brought into the process. This paper provides a framework for understanding and designing high involvement processes for generating and implementing strategic change. Several generic principles of high involvement strategy formation are defined: the ethic of reciprocity, psychological safety, ideation, and simple rules. These dimensions are illustrated by way of two high involvement approaches that have been extensively tested in a variety of organizations: Appreciative Inquiry and Circular Organizing. We summarize and compare these approaches. As such, the key design parameter of high-involvement strategy processes appears to be whether the main interest is in “conversations that matter” or “decisions that matter”.