Strategy Survival Guide

environment in which prevailing assumptions are taken for granted, and also from the more practical
pressures of day to day issues.
Keeping A First Principles Perspective
Whether developing a new strategy, or managing the ongoing implementation of a policy, it is valuable to
develop and retain an objective first principles perspective. Regularly asking the question ‘why?’ can be a
powerful way of uncovering the motivating forces shaping the behaviour of different players in a system, and
checking that the underlying rationale, incentives and structures are still appropriate and valid.
Designing a System From First Principles
Given the space to rethink an approach to a policy issue, first principles thinking encourages an explicit
approach to identifying and understanding the drivers and incentives that are together expected to determine
behaviours and hence outcomes of a system. Techniques such as Systems Thinking and Theories of
Change (described in further detail in The Magenta Book on Policy Hub) use similar logic and again stress
the importance of understanding the causal sequence through which an intervention is anticipated to have its
effect.
A first principles approach also encourages the generation of ‘ideal’ solutions. Temporarily putting aside
issues of feasibility and acceptability allows the ideally suitable solution to be designed. This ideal world
solution can be used to challenge resources allocation decisions and explore the political appetite for radical
change.
Strengths
• Helps to challenge implicit assumptions.
• Uncovers perverse incentives, undesired behaviours and unintended consequences.
• Encourages a fresh approach to issues, and helps to develop creative and innovative solutions.
Weaknesses
• Challenging the status quo can be uncomfortable, especially for those with vested interests.
• It can be very hard to challenge fixed boundaries that are not initially open to debate and to obtain
the necessary mandate and commitment for a fundamentally re-think.
First principles thinking
In Practice: SU Alcohol Misuse Project
In the Alcohol project, going back to first principles meant asking questions such as:
• Why should Government intervene/have a role at all?
• What should the overall goals of government policy in relation to alcohol be? Maximising wellbeing?
Or reducing harm?
• Where is the line between the responsibilities of the state and the responsibilities of the
individual?
• What are the rights and responsibilities of other actors in tackling alcohol-related harm - e.g.
should the alcohol industry be required to internalise the externalities of its products?
• Should we be taking whole population measures to tackle alcohol-related harm (e.g. by
increasing price), or should we target particular harm-causing groups (e.g. young bingedrinkers?)
• Is alcohol a drug like any other? Would it be legal if it were invented today?
• What is alcohol-related harm? Harm to the drinker? Harm to drinker's friends/family? Harm to
wider society? Are some types of harm more serious than others?
Strategy Survival Guide – Strategy Skills
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