Sharp Strategic Choices: Playing Chess on Three Boards at Once

I notice it in myself lately, but I also see it constantly in the leaders and entrepreneurs I have the privilege of guiding. The pressure is high. The wind blows from unexpected directions and the cards are reshuffled almost weekly. The days when we could calculate the future with static five-year plans are definitely behind us. We are in a state of permanent strategic tension.

Just look at the geopolitical hotspots around us, like the war in Ukraine. There we see an extreme acceleration: new weapon systems and technological solutions are developed, tested, and deployed on the battlefield within months. Artificial intelligence accelerates this process exponentially, but technology is not the only factor. The real key lies in human agility.

As a leader in these turbulent years, you are simply expected to gain rapid insight into a complex market. You have to anticipate with your team, give the right people the space they need, and then mobilize the entire organization to realize new solutions with 'all hands on deck'. That requires a specific leadership competency: system-strategic thinking.

The Art of Playing Chess on Three Boards

System-strategic thinking is the ability to read complex systems and recognize patterns. It is the talent to distinguish underlying causes from superficial symptoms. And, perhaps most importantly: using that deep understanding to find the leverage interventions that truly make a difference. It means you don't merely react to what is visible on the surface, but intervene in the forces that drive the system.

That sounds like a mouthful. In practice, it can be compared to playing chess on three different chessboards at the same time:

1. The board of the market: What is happening globally and in our sector?
2. The board of the customer: What do our relations really need today and tomorrow?
3. The board of your own organization: What can our people handle, where does our strength lie, and where is the friction?

Let me be very honest with you: I can't do this alone either. It is a competency that, just like in elite sports, we must constantly train to stay fit. Within our Cutting Edge Leadership framework—in which we also distinguish self-leadership, emotional intelligence, and soulful leadership—we have divided this competency into three clear, trainable pillars.

1. Organizational System Insight: The Helicopter View

The first step is applying the basic principles of systems thinking. This means learning to recognize patterns in complex situations. What is the real problem and what is merely a symptom?

Think of a fast car—a high-performance vehicle with fantastic speed, but no brakes. If that car crashes, you can blame the engine, but the problem lies in the lack of brakes. It works the exact same way in organizations. Sometimes we restructure a department (treating the symptom) while the real problem lies in a lack of mutual trust or unclear expectations (the cause).

To gain this insight, you must regularly and consciously step out of the daily operations. Take a step back to see the big picture. Understand how your organization functions as a system and how structure, culture, power, and leadership influence one another.

2. Translating Complexity into Strategic Perspective

The legendary Albert Einstein once said: "Reduce complexity to simplicity, but without losing the reality of the complexity." That is exactly the core of this second pillar.

As an architect by training, I love structures: a solid foundation, load-bearing pillars, and a clear roof. Once you recognize the patterns on the three chessboards, the art is to translate them into a logical process of three to five steps.

This requires creativity. It means thinking through three to four future scenarios from a helicopter perspective without freezing into the process too quickly. Only then do you dare to choose one clear strategic perspective. Not to hold onto rigidly, but as a compass that you and your team translate into a feasible plan.

3. Strategic Implementation: Freedom in Connection

A well-known principle in modern military strategy says: make an excellent plan, but then give your people the freedom to adapt it on the spot to the reality of the battlefield.

In a healthy organization, trust brings freedom, while distrust leads to suffocating control. The well-known researcher Paul Zak has already shown that high-trust organizations experience significantly less stress and burnout, and instead enjoy more energy and engagement.

Strategic implementation only succeeds if you:

• Build a clear strategy and sharp perspective for the next 12 months.
• Dare to make choices, even if those choices are sometimes unpopular because not everyone sees the big picture yet.
• Identify the leverage points in your organization and intervene there purposefully.
• Communicate continuously with your entire team, so that the sharp priorities are understood at every level.

"Leadership is not about being perfect, but about being willing to grow in small, steady steps. For every poison in an organization, there is an elixir; for strategic vagueness, the elixir is courageous clarity."

Your First Step to Mastery

How are things looking for you right now? Not where you would like to be, but where you actually stand today with your team?

My invitation to you is to take some time this week with your leadership team. Put the three chessboards on the table: the market, the customers, and your own organization. What patterns do you see? What three scenarios can you sketch to proactively anticipate the coming months, instead of running behind the facts?

If you want to dive deeper into this, I highly recommend the book Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath. It will help you enormously to translate your complex strategy into a message that sticks with all your employees.

I wish you much wisdom and courage on this journey of discovery.

Warm regards,

Paul Donders