Abstract
The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Peter Durcker Managers of any organization are not only responsible for routine affairs, but are also tasked to shape future of their firms by setting long term goals, diagnose emerging threats, resolve emerging problems, and look for using their strengths in exploiting opportunities offered by competitive world. Such a proactive intellectual and analytical discourse aiming at creating positive trends for the firm by gaining long term competitive advantage over its rivals is called ‘strategic thinking’. A firm can outperform and out-distance its rivals only if it achieves competitive advantage by delivering greater value to customers or creating comparative value at a lower cost or do both.1 Competitive advantage arises out of meaningful differentiation in the marketplace. Differentiation route revolves basically around the principle of making its offer distinctive from all competing offers and win through distinctiveness. The more competitors stake their strategic thinking upon being the lowest price producer or delivering the highest quality, the more they start to look alike in their marketplace, thus losing their competitive edge over one another. Delivering greater value maximizes higher unit prices; whereas, greater efficiency results in lower average unit costs. Michael Porter, renowned management thinker, terms such performance as ‘operational effectiveness

Dr. Qadar Bakhsh Baloch,, Maria Inam. (2007) Strategic Thinking: Catalyst to Competitive Advantage, Journal of Managerial Sciences, Volume 1, Issue 2.
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