Thinking strategically adds value – we know that – but there isn’t some magical class 
of “strategic thinkers.”
Strategic thinking can be learned – I’ve seen it happen often, sometimes developing from the simple discipline of considering TPG Companies’ 4 questions of Think/Feel/Know/Do.
David Wilsey from Balanced Scorecard Institute makes a good argument for the teachability and learnability of strategic thinking in his thoughtful post, Identify Strategic Thinking with One Simple Question.
There are plenty of ways to build the strategic thinking muscle, and Wilsey offers his Institute’s certification program as one of those. I’m right there with him on his culminating statement, though: “The transition for many teams from always focusing on tactics and actions to always starting with the big picture and working down can be quite profound.”
I’ve found that strategic thinking is much more likely than executing strategically. In an enclosed environment, say a conference room, given the right information and asked the right questions most groups can come up with a decent strategic thought process. The next day, under the light of day they wander away from their strategic plans. Too many burning bushes to extinguish.
Point taken, Tim. My desire is to build up the strategic thinking muscle in people so that they’re using that muscle in their daily work – not just in conference rooms.