Some say conjuring ideas is easy, but turning them into something real is hard. Well, nobody’s questioning that, but yeah, for creative minds, ideas tend to be the easier part, for sure. But what about execution? Well, that’s rare, and it’s (obviously) what separates a passing thought from the successful growth of the idea. 

Strategic thinking models can give creators a sort of framework to move from imagination to innovation and when it comes to product development, business design, and content creation, if you have the right model of strategy, you can break down complexity and align vision with execution, which is pretty much the one key to success.

If you’re designing a tool, writing a book, or even launching a startup, these models are going to be very helpful to you.

So, let’s not waste any more time, and let’s dive straight up into them.

1. Business Model Canvas (BMC)

Business Model Canvas is perhaps one of the most used visual frameworks, depicting all the core elements that go into a business on one sheet of paper. For creators, it truly streamlines the process of checking whether or not the idea is viable or something the idea may evolve into.

Key BMC Segments:

• Value propositions
• Customer segments
• Revenue streams
• Channels
• Key activities

Use Case: A content creator building a digital course can use the BMC to identify the audience, define value (skills learned, for example), and map out delivery and monetization.

2. Blue Ocean Strategy

The Blue Ocean Strategy helps you find untapped market space called a ‘blue ocean’ by the model, instead of fighting over crowded territory (‘red ocean’).

Core Idea: Instead of beating the competition, make the competition irrelevant by offering something radically different.

Application for Creators:

• A startup developing a mindfulness app for coders.
• An author writing fiction that mixes narrative formats (e.g., email threads, code snippets, etc.).

The model urges creators to break from tradition in pursuing whitespace opportunities and embrace new things that will (likely) appeal to a newfound audience instead of just the ‘traditional’ reader. 

Writers can especially apply this perspective when experimenting with a new format or genre and navigating how to get published in a saturated market by identifying publishers open to nontraditional works or launching via indie outlets.

3. SCAMPER Technique

SCAMPER is a short for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse. Sounds like a lot, but actually it is going to make it simpler for you to improve or reimagine an exciting idea. With this simple list, you can do so much work.

SCAMPER Action	Creative Example
Substitute	Replace print books with audio-first storytelling
Combine	Blend self-help with a graphic novel format
Adapt	Use storytelling structure from films in long-form blogs
Modify	Change the tone or structure of an existing brand voice
Put to use	Turn workshop transcripts into an eBook
Eliminate	Strip features from a product for minimalist appeal
Reverse	Tell a story backward or reframe the narrative arc

The SCAMPER method is most useful when you get into iterative stages. Grab an idea that you have and push its creative limits.

4. First Principles Thinking

If you’ve ever had an opportunity to hear some of Elon Musk’s speeches, then you probably already heard about his popular First Principles Thinking. It dismantles complicated problems into basic truths and then builds solutions for them. It does not lean on analogies or conventions. 

Sounds like Musk, right? But, he made a lot of things happen, so he probably knows what he’s talking about.

1. Identify and then challenge assumptions.

2. Break the issue down to fundamental truths.

3. Build new solutions from these truths.

Example: Instead of asking, “How do I compete with top productivity blogs?” ask, “What do people really need to solve daily decision fatigue, and anyway, how can I offer that differently?”.

It’s best to use this line of thought when building something original or else trying to disrupt a legacy line of thought-whether it’s how businesses pitch ideas or how authors pitch manuscripts.

5. The 5 Whys

The 5 Whys method helps creators find the root cause of a problem and then apply the five whys consecutively.

Why are my books not selling? – I’m not sufficiently visible.

Why am I not sufficiently visible? – Because I did not build any platform.

Why did I not build a platform? – Because I’m just focused on writing.

Why am I simply writing? – Because I didn’t know how to promote myself.

Why didn’t I know how to promote myself? – Because I didn’t research it or seek guidance.

This technique uncovers these invisible cracks in your work system or attitude that would stand in the way of your idea gaining traction. It is meant for those creators who think they are stuck at a certain stage in the process and who seek clarity.

Conclusion

If you want to breathe life into your big ideas, then what you’ll need is more than just passion. The best way to go about this is to utilize and follow a framework designed just for this. The above-mentioned five strategic thinking models are a way of giving creators a repeatable method to shape, to test, and to refine that what they brought into the world – a new and original story.