The Open Strategic Advantage: Leveraging Internal Knowledge and External Perspectives
The Intersection Of Internal Knowledge And External Perspectives Is Where Strategic Magic Happens
Recently, I worked with a large infrastructure organisation facing complex challenges amid fiscal constraints. We deployed scenario planning—a powerful foresight method that unites teams to confront future possibilities while informing current priorities.
We began by engaging internal domain experts to map potential futures and identify the critical milestones that would lead there. When we brought these insights to a combined Executive and Board session, the external perspectives of members with diverse sector experience transformed our thinking. They extrapolated these milestones across different possible paths, revealing a landscape of both significant risks and extraordinary opportunities that would emerge regardless of which future materialised.
The result was clarity about which risks to manage and which opportunities to harness to create our DESIRED future. This powerful strategic insight emerged specifically because we combined deep internal knowledge with fresh external perspectives—neither would have been sufficient alone.
Why Experts See What We Miss
Experts are able to stretch our thinking, or help us find ways to achieve the seemingly ‘impossible’. When the root causes of problems feel intractable, it can be a breakthrough to get internal or external experts in to help us weave various alternatives that can work around obstacles or break down barriers.
Or just breath a whole new life into our ‘same old’ thinking….
“Experts don’t have crystal balls but they do have something even better…the ability to spot what’s possible before everyone else does.”
The Reality Check: Leadership’s Blind Spots
Your internal experts aren't just technical specialists - they're your frontline reality check. They understand your operational capabilities, limitations, and what actually happens when strategy meets the real world of customer interactions.
The Outside Edge: Fresh Eyes, Fresh Solutions
External experts bring cross-industry insights that challenge your status quo. They spot emerging threats and opportunities others miss, having seen similar patterns play out across different sectors.
The Power Play: Combining Internal & External Expertise
Lessons from this story show how merging internal and external expertise helps:
- Map future scenarios and strategic implications
- Identify early warning signals
- Create decision frameworks for ambiguous situations
- Challenge conventional thinking about possible futures
The Bottom Line: Invest in Expertise or Pay Later
The cost of ignoring expert perspectives - missed opportunities, unforeseen threats, failed execution - far outweighs the investment in gathering these insights.
Ready to strengthen your decision-making? Start by mapping your internal experts and identifying where external perspective could fill crucial gaps in your strategy.
If you would like to learn more about effective and time smart ways of tapping into internal and external expert perspectives, send me an email or Book a complimentary chat today.
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