Thinking about the future: A cognitive perspective

The promises and challenges of a cognitive approach to strategic planning and subjective forecasting are examined. Strategic thinking is viewed as comprising three components: (1) knowledge base, (2) problem representation, and (3) inference processes linking the first two. Analysis of these components, it is argued, can be an important aid to understanding and guiding managerial problem solving. The authors review several techniques for modeling strategic thinking and planning, including network representations, production systems, causal maps, and analyses of argumentation. They consider the strengths and weaknesses of different cognitive analysis techniques and discuss how they might be implemented. Much more experience and refinement will be needed to produce well-specified procedures for cognitive analysis of planning. The authors conclude, however, that even at the current stage of development, significant benefits can accrue from a cognitive approach to strategic planning.