Pointing out the inflexibilities in traditional methodologies for strategic scenario development, the author of the Mapping Strategy blog suggests as I have, that jazz offers an improved approach:

When people think of scenarios, they often think of stories. Such stories have a specific sequence: this happens, which causes that, which triggers this other thing, which results in the world looking as follows. Most scenarios also tend to be monolithic. That is, singular. Typical scenario ‘architecture’ is all of a piece - difficult to deconstruct, much less reassemble in new ways.

… In the content industries such boundaries are clearly starting to break down, as things like digital editing tools and blogs enable creative improvisation, re-use, and jazz-like riffs on others’ thoughts and works. That topic and its intersection with copyright evolution is a big one unto itself. I use it here merely to point out how strategic thinking processes are long overdue for a similar process of modularization and opening-up.

… What is the antidote to all this? Modularity. Lego blocks. Tinker Toys. Mad Libs. The computer industry after the mid 1990’s. The automotive industry of today. Jazz.

Effective Scenarios Part IV: Modularity

This is a very insightful resource I’ll be spending more time with.