You are not alone — there is no person alive who has had to manage during such a difficult time. Every leader is struggling to sort through the maze of issues that are emerging. You have important choices to make, but right now, you may feel hampered and, in some instances, powerless. You don’t know how to begin narrowing down your options.
That is why strategic thinking is so valuable. Each person must reframe how they think. Strategic thinking is more than a process or set of tools. It’s a mindset that becomes habitual.
It’s a way of looking at all aspects of life – both professional and personal — problems as well as opportunities, significant issues, and small nagging concerns. There are five principles that serve as a compass to keep you focused and guide you on what matters. These principles are the foundation of strategic thinking.
1. Challenge Assumptions by keeping your mind open. Ask questions about why you’re doing what you’re doing. And conversely, you must re-imagine options for new or different approaches. Your assumptions may be well-grounded, but the situation has changed. The warp-speed changes of today require that assumptions must be re-imagined rather than stay fixed. Try This
Begin by asking the “What If” and “Why” questions:
Why did I see the need for this decision in the past?
What if I do things differently?
What if I re-imagine things radically?
What if I owned this business? What would I do differently?
2. Scoping the Issue is essential. What matters is that you identify the precise scale of the undertaking so you can have everyone working from the same page. You must be aware of the level (organization, function, team) of the issues you are Having everyone communicate and focus on the same level will not only save time but will lead to better outcomes. Determine the appropriate “scope of analysis” to address the right issues within your control. Try This:
Ask at what level does the problem exist
Is it a company-wide issue?
Within my business unit?
Team and or departmental concern?
Who is the “person” who could begin to address this issue best?
What is within scope? Out of scope?
3. Facts Inform Outcomes. Opinions, beliefs, biases, hunches, intuitions, gut feelings … all of these may or may not be on target. But you must realize what they are and aren’t. And you must be sure that your decision making relies on fact-based analysis from a reputable source such as the CDC. Meaningful decisions and conclusions are drawn from clear and precise information. Develop a heightened awareness of how to spot opinion and speculation that may be disguised as data. Try This
Use facts to make decisions and reach meaningful, valid conclusions
Drive for clarity on any opinion-based statements
Ask for quantification with words such as Best, Great, Competitive Edge, and Best Informed should be challenged.
Always ask: What’s the evidence?
4. Focus on the Vital Few. Don’t try to take on everything at once. It may make you feel like a hero, but it’s more likely to undercut your chances for success than enhance them. Even if you are working with an overabundance of resources, which is not usually the case, trying to communicate and align people on multiple tasks and targets rarely works out well. Prioritizing and working on the vital few, always works best. Apply the “90-10″ rule: focus on the 10% of action that will deliver 90% of the results. Try This:
Narrow conclusions down to the vital few—use the 90-10 rule.
What are the themes coming out of your analysis?
What did you learn? Which conclusions are the most important? Create a statement for each. What are the implications?
Use the Eisenhower urgent/important matrix.
5. Connecting the Dots seems so self-evident. But in a rush to accomplish specific tasks and goals, the need to identify linkages and assure the connections often is overlooked. And the consequences of such oversights can be a hit to morale as well as missed opportunities. If a unit in a group believes its targets are being overlooked, or short-changed, or aren’t incorporated within the overall effort, the ‘second-class citizen syndrome’ can easily take root. There should be a clear line of sight throughout the entire process, from beginning to end. You and your colleagues need to see and understand the linkage from one step to another, both forwards and backward. Steve Jobs emphasized this is his infamous commence speech. Try This:
What informed your goals and strategies?
Is there anything important in your analysis that is missing from your plan?
Visually show linkages between your analysis and your solutions. In your documents, color code relationships between goals and strategies and analysis.
Print PowerPoint pages and align them horizontally. Can you track ideas from start to finish?
These simple but powerful principles are so crucial to strategic thinking. Everyone can master these — you just have to open your mind to think differently!