During a leadership summit recently, I was asked to share my thoughts on the critical aspects of strategic thinking. Before I did that, I asked the leaders to share their thoughts on strategic thinking. What is it? How do you know if you or someone has that ability? Can you develop it? Their responses ranged from, “It’s thinking ahead. Either you do it or you don’t,” to, “Everyone has the ability. It just isn’t used or developed by some people.” (As you can tell, they were a candid group so we got along great.) Before I shared my thoughts on strategic thinking with them, I first shared my definition of strategic thinking:
“Strategic thinking is the ability to visualize a future outcome that enables a better state – while also considering ways to mitigate the risks and negative unintended consequences.”
Strategic thinking isn’t simply thinking about and planning for the future. It’s also considering a myriad of potential intended and unintended consequences and assessing their impact on the desired goal. Strategic thinking without thinking about the consequences isn’t strategic thinking; that’s impulsive thinking.
Strategic thinking without thinking about the consequences isn’t strategic thinking; that’s impulsive thinking.
You can never consider every potential ramification of your decisions nor should you. If you tried, you’d be in a never-ending analysis paralysis tailspin. However, you should consider some of the ‘obvious’ impact points of your potential decisions to mitigate risks and elevate the odds of achieving your desired outcomes. So how can you do that? Keep it simple. I encourage my clients to use the basic balanced scorecard framework as a starting point. How will this decision or action impact your/the:
- People
- Money
- Products
- Processes
Now visualize these four potential impact points at the center of a wheel. They’re interconnected. Invariably a change in one will have some impact on at least one if not all three of the other potential impact points. Now, consider who/what will be impacted most obviously or first? Who/what will be impacted after that? Who/what will be impacted after that?
- People (i.e., customers, team/staff, vendors, regulators, advisors, tangent stakeholders, etc.)
- Money (i.e., revenues, expenses, taxes, economy, debt load, cashflow, interest rates, etc.)
- Products (i.e., products you make, services you offer, sourcing/supply chains, etc.)
- Processes (i.e., production capabilities, business operations, technology, regulations, etc.)
As you work through this exercise, you will start to identify layers or waves of impact. By being more intentional, you’re able to proactively and strategically consider those or that which you intend to impact – and those or that you don’t. When you think along those lines, you’re thinking strategically – not impulsively.
So, do I believe strategic thinking can be developed in leaders? Yes. I think most leaders have the skill. However, the most effective leaders are the ones who consider the waves and the impacts their decisions may cause. They then adjust their strategies to ensure they’re creating the right waves and having the right impact. That’s strategic.
Copyright MMXXV – Liz Weber, CMC, CSP – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com +1.717.597.8890
Liz Weber is an advisor to boards of directors, business owners, and C-Suite leaders. She’s a leadership, strategic and succession planning consultant, keynote speaker, and author.
