When it comes to strategy and strategic management I believe we are all on the learning curve. Those with little experience are still at the beginning of the learning curve and those with much experience are further on the learning curve.
How progress is made on the learning curve is perhaps easy at the beginning, when one needs to acquire knowledge of strategy and strategic management tools first and secondly one needs to learn to apply the tools properly. However after one has accomplished all that, the learning curve is not so easy to describe, because in our modern and complex business environment there are no prediscribed routes to follow that will always work.
A useful description of this next level of learning can be found in the article “Reflection in Strategic Management Education“, which is prepublished online in the Journal of Management Education. The most important aspects for students and business practitioners with regard to strategy and strategic management are critical and reflective thinking. This thinking goes beyond rationality and includes also artistic, creative and innovative assessments (see also Strategy: balancing rationality and creativity). It is also known as deep learning where one is able to identify and critically question own assumptions and beliefs to be open to out of the box solutions that can be sucessfully implemented and executed.
“De omnibus dubitandum” (René Descartes)