The owl in strategy: look sharply, don't keep staring.

The owl has been a symbol of wisdom for centuries, linked in Greek mythology to Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategy. Not the brute force of the hawk or the display of the peacock, but sharp sight in the dark: the owl sees what others miss, waits, observes, and only strikes when the moment is right. A useful bird in the boardroom, because good strategy sometimes calls for stepping back first: recognising patterns, asking the right questions, and looking at what is shifting beneath the dashboard.

But wisdom has a shadow side too: staring and analysing endlessly without choosing. In this article you will read how to use the owl's sharpness without getting stuck in analysis.

This is the final part of Jeroen Toet's blog series Strategic bird guide: bird language in the boardroom.

Want to read on? Download the full article below.

---

Jeroen Toet is a senior strategist at Jester Strategy and co-author of the book Scenario Planning in Practice. For over 10 years he has helped organisations in the private and public sector make future-proof choices using foresight methods, including scenario planning.

Questions about the article? Get in touch with Jeroen: j.toet@jester.nl or +31 6 11 45 13 11.