Strategy Isn’t Broken - But Something Is Missing
Strategy hasn’t failed. But it is falling short.
The tools we inherited – segmentation, targeting, positioning – were built for steadier markets, clearer patterns, more predictable change.
That world’s gone. Today’s reality is faster, messier, and harder to read. Competitors come out of nowhere. Culture shifts before you can research it. And many organisations feel unsure of their future – or whether they’ll even have one.
The truth is: we can’t optimise our way to what comes next.
Strategy often relies on logic, but it moves forward through belief – belief in a future, in a choice, in a new way of seeing. But belief doesn’t come from analysis alone. It comes from imagination – the ability to see beyond where we are, and sense where to go next.
Why Imagination Matters More Than Ever
Imagination is more than daydreams and fantasy; it’s a core part of how we think, decide, and believe.
Cognitively, imagination is how the brain constructs mental simulations: of the future, of other people’s minds, of scenarios that haven’t happened yet. It draws on memory, perception, and emotion to model possibilities beyond the here and now.
It’s what lets us:
- Step into someone else’s perspective
- Picture outcomes we haven’t experienced
- Combine ideas in unexpected ways
- Spot patterns and tensions
- Commit to a course of action under uncertainty
But imagination doesn’t just shape our conscious thoughts. It also forms the background of how we feel, frame, and behave – often without us noticing.
It’s how expectations take root, how meaning is formed, and how habits become automatic – because we
don’t just act on logic or memory, but on what we expect and what we’ve already imagined to be true.
These processes shape how people assign value, form desire, and decide what to believe or buy.
As researchers, innovators, and strategists, imagination is the tool that lets us move from observing the world to understanding and even reshaping it. And in a world where the answers aren’t obvious, and the data isn’t enough – imagination is our edge.
What Strategy Often Misses
And yet – despite all that – most strategy undervalues imagination.
We treat analysis like it’s the answer.
We confuse frameworks for thinking.
We make choices that feel safe, not choices that actually move things forward.
That’s not strategy. That’s rationalised caution.
Strategy means making a leap – toward something better, bolder, or more valuable.
And imagination is how you make the leap.
Because data only shows you what’s already happened. Imagination lets you see what could be.
Imagination isn’t soft. It’s strategic.
It’s not vague. It’s the clearest way to navigate ambiguity.
If imagination is going to drive strategy, it has to be more than a mindset. It has to become a method.
That’s why we work with five distinct types of imagination – grounded in cognitive science, cultural theory, and commercial practice. Each one is a deliberate tool for navigating ambiguity and making sharper strategic choices.
The Five Types of Imagination
Each type of imagination trains the mind to work differently – and gives researchers, strategists, and innovators a new way to unlock insight, shape strategy, and spark ideas that feel both imaginative and commercially real.
Sensorial Imagination
Picture and feel an idea before it exists.
This brings abstract concepts to life – as if they already lived in the world.
Use it to shape brand experiences, environments, packaging, and expression.
What would this feel like to walk into? Touch? Hear?
Empathetic Imagination
Step into someone else’s experience.
This surfaces unspoken needs, emotional tensions, and latent desires.
Use it to humanise data and design with deeper relevance.
What are they feeling – and what might they never say aloud?
Narrative Imagination
Build a story that others can believe in.
This connects ideas into meaning – shaping strategy that people want to be part of.
Use it to frame positioning, brand worlds, and shared ambition.
What story are we inviting people into – and why does it matter now?
Explorative Imagination
Push past the obvious.
This opens new terrain by asking better questions and provoking bolder possibilities.
Use it to map futures, break category assumptions, and explore whitespace.
What hasn’t been said – but is waiting to be voiced?
Strategic Imagination
Simulate futures – and choose where to play.
This helps test moves in the mind before you make them in the market.
Use it to make strategic choices under uncertainty – with confidence and clarity.
If this were true… what would we do next?
These aren’t traits. They’re tools.
They help strategy do more than make sense – they help it make meaning.
This deliberate, practical use of imagination, in strategy, in insight, in innovation, that we call Imagination Science.
We’re not trying to reinvent strategy.
We’re bringing it back to what it’s always been – the bold, human act of choosing what comes next.