STR.1:1 - Problem frame

Use this pattern when a request such as “respond to AI”, “find a growth strategy”, or “develop the organization” leaves people working on different decisions. One person is thinking about the next product, another about the company’s continuing ability to serve customers, and a third about this quarter’s investment approval. The strategy practitioner helps them identify which direction or commitment is actually in question.

Start by asking: whose contribution could change, which decision can use our answer, and what answer is useful now? Name the person or organization whose strategy is being considered, the horizon, the affected contribution and the person or body that can make the relevant choice. Distinguish that chooser from the team preparing the answer.

The first useful result is a bounded strategic question that the recipient can use to request a comparison, select an option or clarify a missing condition. A clear question can finish this work. The gain is that later analysis addresses the choice that matters instead of producing an impressive answer to a different one.

Do not reopen the whole strategy frame when an existing frame is adequate and only one assumption has changed; use STR.2 for that impact. If the problem is a late service task within an already selected direction, first return it to the practice responsible for service delivery. It becomes a strategic question when resolving it may change the contribution, direction or commitments being pursued.