Book Review: A New Way to Think by Roger Martin ~Rethinking Strategy, Culture, and the People We Serve

“When a model is failing you, it doesn’t mean you’re failing—it means it’s time for a new model.” ~ Roger Martin

I picked up Roger Martin’s A New Way to Think expecting a book on strategy. What I found was something even more compelling: a deeply human, deeply practical guide to leading with imagination. Martin’s central premise is that we cling to dominant models—whether in HR, planning, culture, or innovation—because they’re familiar, not because they work. They also appeal to “automaticity” ~ the desire of the brain to keep things simple; and, they appeal to history, what we know. His challenge: let go of models that are no longer serving you and adopt ones that align more with how the world actually works.

This isn’t a book of theory. It’s a field guide for thinking leaders. It asks us to slow down, question our defaults, and reimagine how we solve problems.

You Would Be Interested in This Book If…
– You’re a school leader rethinking how to align strategy with culture.
– You’ve inherited a strategic plan that looks good on paper but doesn’t move people to act.
– You work in experiential education and want to build agile systems that respond to real feedback.
– You’re coaching new leaders and want to help them think more flexibly, creatively, and humanely.

Strategy is a Choice—Not a Plan
Martin’s model of cascading strategic choices really stuck with me. He makes the sharp distinction between planning and strategy, reminding us that strategy isn’t just about setting direction—it’s about making clear choices that inform everything that follows, right down to who you hire and how they execute.

In schools, we often equate strategic planning with long documents, timelines, and working groups. Martin flips that. The better question: What needs to be true for this choice to work? That shift—from prediction to possibility—opens up space for imagination, especially in education, where strategy must remain dynamic and people-centred.

The example of Tylenol’s recall reappears as a case study of “imagination over analysis.” They didn’t test market response; they acted on what they wanted to be true: that people could trust them. It’s a helpful reminder that bold decisions aren’t always backed by data—they’re often backed by values.

Culture Doesn’t Eat Strategy—It Is Strategy
I’ve long admired the phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” but Martin takes it further: he makes the case that culture and strategy are inseparable. Culture, he writes, is not about inspirational posters or abstract values—it’s about how your internal customers (your employees, your teachers) experience your strategic choices.

This resonated deeply with me.  I’ve been reflecting on how strategy must be embedded into the lived experience of students and staff. If they don’t feel ownership over the decisions we’re making, or they don’t see how the decisions best serve them and their roles on the front lines (so to speak), or if they can’t draw the line between the choices and our mission, vision and values, then the strategy fails—no matter how clever the document.

From Right Answers to Better Answers
One of Martin’s most liberating ideas is this: the goal is not to be right; it’s to get to better answers. That’s a mindset shift many leaders—especially in education—need. We’re trained to reward correctness, consistency, and decisiveness. But Martin reminds us that the best leaders are curious, adaptive, and humble enough to abandon even their own favourite ideas when something better emerges.

Final Thought
Martin’s book is very readable, because in his clarity of explanations, he doesn’t preach disruption for its own sake. Instead, he gently pushes us to question the models we’ve inherited—and offers alternatives that honour people, imagination, and joy in the workplace.

https://www.brucemayhewconsulting.com/blog/honouring-our-values-letting-values-be-our-guide-during-adversity

I consider myself a Values-based leader, and the above quotation links to a really interesting and related article about WHY we should honour our values at work. “When we have explored what our values are and what they mean to us, we can use them to make the right decisions quickly and confidently… especially when we have to make difficult or challenging decisions.”

For those of us in education, where systems and assumptions often go unexamined, A New Way to Think offers exactly what its title promises. It will allow leaders to examine past and current practices with an eye to the future yet to be created.

“The problem with dominant models is not that they are wrong. It’s that we use them even when they stop serving us.”

Time to rethink.