Private-equity firms have found that more than 30% of decisions are different when opposing possibilities are pitted against each other.

Another de-biasing technique is a pre-mortem, where the team assumes a strategy has failed to achieve its intended objective after a set ...

Direct the discussion to focus on strategic alternatives that management thinks will be at similar risk and return levels. Then ask the team to consider which big move to make.

You could also show different plan scenarios with varying levels of resources and risk

After the plan is developed, the detailed assumptions may be forgotten. Few review the underlying assumptions, such as uptake rates, market growth, and inflation rates.

We shouldn't assume that we know the future. Instead, consider what you can do with the information you have today and bui...

Business leaders know well that in a strategy meeting, the goal is to simply approve or reject a proposal put forward without questioning the plan or floating alternative options that can cause distress.

It shouldn't be this way. The key to strategy development is to weigh strategic...