Tweet

Strategic Thinking for Leaders

Guest post by: Philip A. Foster

Article Overview: The business environment today is constantly in flux and on the edge of volatility. No longer can business simply be the best at making a widget without also considering how to best transfer widgets to market before the competition. Superiority in the widget market is backed by an organizations ability to think and act strategically. This article explains the concepts of strategic thinking and planning and provides some practical competencies needed to develop the skills of strategic thinking.

Strategic Thinking for Leaders

There is likely not a day that goes by in which most leaders will find themselves thinking and planning business strategies of their organization. Many leaders, either intuitively or otherwise, know this as strategic thinking and planning. However, for many others the idea of strategic thinking may seem as distant as an Ivy League education. To understand the process of strategic thinking and planning, we must ask what exactly strategic thinking is and what can leaders learn in order to produce greater success. In her book Strategic Thinking and the New Science 1998, T. Irene Sanders states that strategic thinking is nothing more than applying insights to our lives to anticipate, respond to and influence change as it is emerging and before a crisis arises. Simply put, strategic thinking is a process of thinking about goals and objectives on a daily basis. Strategic thinking is a long-term vision and systematic approach to the environment in which the leader operates. Cornelis A. de Kluyver and John A. Pearce II in their book Strategy - A view from the Top 2009, state that strategic thinking is focused on creating a vision for the future of the organization and on crafting a clear, concise blueprint for realizing that vision. Essentially, what de Kluyver and Pearce are saying is that strategic thinking is the "big picture" or "10,000 foot view" approach to viewing the organization and what desired outcomes ought to be. It is the ability of the leader to take a wide view of the organization and begin to piece together a vision of where the organization is and where it needs to go from there. Without investigation, strategic thinking may come across as a complex process, which is best suited for Fortune 100 companies. We eliminate this notion when one begins to understand that effective strategic thinking begins with a mindset or way of thinking about their approach to business. This mindset is made of competencies that one can develop towards the skill of strategic thinking.

These competencies included the following:

Brainstorming: Strategic thinking begins with the concept of thinking itself. The most effective form of strategic thinking may be comprised of the process of brainstorming. Brainstorming involves self or ones staff and colleagues and is the process of discussing a stream of ideas until specific concepts emerge as logical paths to pursue.

Goal Setting: From brainstorming, one will begin to develop a strategic plan that is comprised of specific goals and objects for the organization. As with any goal setting process, the plans must be specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timed.

Strategic Planning: Strategic planning funnels the big picture concepts developed from thinking and goal setting toward a complex model or plan of action designed to achieve the created vision. It is how we get to where we want to go. A successful strategic plan can be summarized as a blueprint as to how the ideas will be implemented. Strategic planning may involve a more systematic approach to accomplishing tasks. Remember, strategic thinking is the big picture whereas the planning is focused on the elements that make up the larger context of the goal.

In his book What is Strategic Thinking - 2010 Robert Bacal notes that strategic planning focuses on identifying leverage. In other words, how can we use what we have to develop advantages over the competition? What we find is that the process of strategic planning is both analytical and creative. Bacal states that the analytical aspect of planning examines assumptions, "the way things are done", and a critical approach that questions what the organization on whole believes.

Strategic Plan Review: The trend in strategic thinking and planning has most often been to create a plan and stick with it. Many organizations spend a large amount of time and resources to develop a 5-year plan that many times will end up collecting dust on the shelf by the end of the first year. This is not to say that a 5-year plan is not worthwhile. However, it is more effective to develop a strategic plan that is constantly up-dated and current to the latest trends of the market. As we know, organizations do not operate in a vacuum. They belong to a complex and ever changing world of which they draw from and give to. Not only should an organization understand the factors but have a plan or idea as to how to deal with many of those factors as they occur. This is where the concept of strategic thinking and visioning or the imagination of a potential future can be useful to a leader. It is simply the leader's ability to sit and think of all the possible outcomes facing the organization based on the information available to them at a given time. The more individuals involved in this process the more possibilities that are potentially available for consideration. The main issue is that the leaders begin to take off the blinders and pay attention to the big picture of the business environment. This attention permits the organization to tune into possible changes and to anticipate those changes before the market.

Understanding the Roadblocks: Recognizing the competencies to strategic thinking is not enough. Leaders must also recognize some of the roadblocks to successful planning and change. One of those areas is that of cultural differences or ones worldview. While strategic thinking is applicable to all countries and cultures, we must consider the worldviews in which the organization operates especially for those organizations that cross cultural boundaries. James Sire states, "A worldview is a set of presuppositions which we hold about the basic makeup of our world." According to de Kluyver and Pearce, one should consider ideologies as well as the relative importance of ethnic, religious, and nationalist movements. These factors will influence the risks of operating in such environments. One must understand that one's culture acts as a filter which affects the way individuals respond to changes within their culture.

Conclusion: Leaders from all organizational sizes must come to understand the importance of strategic thinking and planning. Strategic thinking is a method of applying insights to anticipate and respond to changes within the environment for which one operates. Strategic thinking is an on-going, long-term process of analyzing, developing approaches and visions for future opportunities. It is not enough to hold the big picture view of organizational possibilities without also considering the elements that make up the actual plan of action. While there are potentially endless possibilities related to ones vision of the future, they are more likely to be more effective with a systematic approach. Developing the skills of strategic thinking through brainstorming, goal setting and planning may be the single most important skill set an organization can develop. To ignore these skills and processes may be to the benefit of your competition.

For further information:

Sanders, T. I. (1998). Strategic thinking and the new science: Planning in the midst of chaos, complexity, and change. New York, NY: The Free Press

de Kluyver, Cornelis A. and Pearce II, John A. (2009). Strategy. A View from the Top - 3rd Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Hughes, Richard L. and Beatty, Katherine Colarelli (2005). Becoming a Strategic Leader. San

Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Bacal, Robert (2010) "What Is Strategic Thinking?" Retrieved from [to avoid plagiarism; for source, please contact author as Evan Carmichael editors will not allow for proper scholarly citation on this website]

Sire, James W. (1997). The Universe Next Door. Third Edition. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press

Related Articles
  “Strategic Benefits of Business Coaching, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach ”
  Strategic Business Greeting Tips From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  Strategic Thinking What Does It Really Mean
  Important "Lessons Learned” For Leaders, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  “Strategic Marketing Tips From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  The Value and Benefits of Strategic Thinking
  12 Strategic Questions To Ask Before Starting New Marketing Activity, From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  How Regenerative Leaders Build Enduring Strategic Advantages
  Eight Essential Qualities of Passionate, Powerful and Proven Leaders, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  “Ten Strategic Marketing Actions To Ensure Success In Your New Year, From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  Strategic Tips From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach To Improve Personal Communications
  Twelve Strategic Leadership Actions To Fire Up Your Employees During Change
  Strategically Structured Succession Planning For Company Leadership According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  Ten Tips For Writing Successful Business Proposals From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  Clearing Up The Myths About Strategic Thinking and Planning
  How To Identify Your Marketing Barriers, Tips From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  Ten More Important “Lessons Learned” For Leaders, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  How To Improve Your Own Time Management Through Seven Strategic Questions, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  The Positive Impact of Strategic Thinking and Planning on Your Success
  More On Strategic Thinking

Article Tags: goals, leadership, Strategic Thinking



Related Forum Posts
Re: Essential Leadership skills - Vision Values Mission Strategic Thinking Decision Making Communication Team Bonding People Development Coaching / Mentoring / Guiding / Grooming Presentation Thanks Robert
Different Hats - CEO Sales & Marketing & Leadership Development Company Strategic Vision 10 Alliances & Growth Strategies 10 Hiring & Managing People 8 Mentoring 8-9 Strategic Planning for Clients 10 Execution of Marketing Campaigns 9-10 (i have great people who do the nitty gritty) Financial Management 9 Bookkeeping 3 (outsourced as I really hate the fine details like GST0 Administrative Follow Up 6-7 (again have great staff) Writing & Publishing 9 (getting better all the time!) Speaking 10 (so I have been told) Self Promotion 9-10 Web development & Promotion 6-7 (learning more and have brought on players who are 10+) Babysitting Employees (1 - wont do it, that's why I work so hard to hire and motivate the people I have) Great topic Kevin!! Jude
Re: March 21 Triple Crown Update - Congratulations to the first three Leaders in the Forum category. Keep it up.
Re: Forums Question - Ok guys - the This Month's Leaders should now be working - thank you for pointing this out!
Re: Forums Question - test post to check for This Month's Leaders - no need to reply


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Attracting Passionate Employees

TOP Level Selling

Setting Goals for your Home Based Business

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.