Strategize on a napkin

Abstract

Purpose

The author urges managers to pay more respect to the time‐honored tradition of sketching ideas on the back of an envelope or a napkin managers. It is a way to become more skilled at imaginatively using simple yet sophisticated cognitive tools.

Design/methodology/approach

A number of examples of using images to achieve leaps of learning are cited.

Findings

Senior managers often make breakthrough ideas at informal sessions when they sketch their thoughts literally on a napkin.

Research limitations/implications

Crafting strategy on a piece of paper is a creative activity ripe for both exploration and exploitation in all organizations.

Practical implications

Managers should save the napkin on which they have sketched out their bold idea and present it at future sessions for reevaluation.

Originality/value

An entertaining look at how important ideas germinate and get communicated.

Citation

Keidel, R.W. (2005), "Strategize on a napkin", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 58-59. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878570510608077