In Pursuit of Strategy: Using Martin’s What Would Have to Be True

You’re at a crossroads.  A decision needs to be made.  Whether it’s your team or the board, individuals have staked out positions and no one is on the same page.  Each person has a different opinion. Frustration and paralysis are beginning to set in. There is a way to break the log jam. It’s time to pull out Roger Martin’s What Would Have to Be True (WWHTBT) framework. 

Case Application: A School Contemplating the Addition of An Upper School 

In this particular scenario, a K-8 school is exploring whether to add an upper school.  Advocates for expansion highlight potential benefits like increased tuition revenue, expanded mission fulfillment, and community impact. Those more cautious focus on risks: financial strain, potential dilution of the school's core identity, and operational and administrative challenges.

Traditional decision-making often devolves into a debate of positions, with each side defending their perspective.  But by using Roger Martin’s What Would Have to Be True (WWHTBT) framework, this dynamic can be flipped, moving the conversation from adversarial to collaborative. 

WWHTBT Framework

The exercise begins with a fundamental shift in perspective. Instead of debating about whether to add an upper school, board members collectively explore: "What must be true for this to be a successful decision?"

In this case, the decision to be made is clear: Should this K-8 school expand to include grades 9-12?

Board members collaboratively list the conditions that must exist for the upper school to be a strategic success. Each board member agrees that if every condition can be met that they would be in favor of moving ahead. Framed this way, board members are more likely to identify with specificity factors that are causing discord. This is not a “nice to have list” but a list of the necessary conditions for success. These conditions may include:  

• Sufficient local demand for an independent high school option
• Financial sustainability without compromising the existing school's programs
• Ability to recruit high-quality upper school faculty
• Ability to recruit a high-quality upper school head
• Alignment with the school's mission and educational philosophy
• Facilities that can effectively support high school learning
• Minimal negative impact on the existing K-8 culture and programs

For each condition, the board must honestly assess: 

• Do we have evidence this is truly achievable? 
• What data supports or challenges each condition?

To answer the above questions, trustees must:

• Assign research tasks for each critical condition 
• Set clear timelines for gathering evidence
• Create a scoring or assessment framework
• Be prepared to pivot if key conditions cannot be reliably met

With all of the WWHTBT conditions clearly answered, the board can make a confident decision with broad support.

Making a Cultural Shift:  From Debate to Strategic Inquiry

The WWHTBT exercise does more than list potential obstacles. It creates a shared investigative framework where board members collaborate to:

• Gather specific, measurable evidence
• Challenge assumptions
• Identify potential deal-breakers early
• Build consensus through shared exploration

The added benefit of using this approach is that it can solve more than a single strategic question. It introduces a decision-making culture of:

• Intellectual humility
• Data-driven deliberation
• Collaborative problem-solving
• Strategic risk management

We’ve all been a part of teams where the decision making process feels a bit tortured.  WWHTBT might just be the balm your team needs to relieve the pain and make better decisions.