Can you teach strategic thinking

More importantly, it is extremely important for them to appreciate, where do I fit into this puzzle? Once an executive is able to look at organizational problems from the above perspective, he is considered to be strategically thinking! Since most of the key executives are generally part of this exercise, can we take for granted that they all strategically think?

Unfortunately not! Strategic planning is not strategic thinking. In strategic planning, competitor dynamics is generally ignored and the company is more obsessed by what it wants to do. In the process, it just takes the customer and the competitor for granted! Disruptive innovation is not conducive, and is never likely to be an agenda, in the strategic planning exercises.

Hence, business units and divisions generally would be forced to continue to do what they have been doing for years. Ideas are the lifeblood of strategic thinking. Everything we see, touch, taste, hear and smell stems from ideas. Ideation is the process of brainstorming ideas, perusing those that have the greatest potential impact on the business. You can arrive at ideas with the greatest potential impact on your business by rating each idea with PIES: PIES stands for Potential how much improvement can be delivered , Importance how valuable is the outcome to your business , Ease how difficult is it to implement.

The S stands for score. Rate your ideas out of ten for each criteria, and you have arrived at your PIES score. The higher the PIES score, the greater the potential impact. To make an impartial decision, have your coworkers rate each idea with PIES, arriving at an average score for each criteria. Prioritise those ideas with the highest PIES score.

While there is no guarantee of success, the rational rigour of PIES means that you have done your due diligence before committing resources. Here we consider factors, both external and internal, that can influence the success of our ideas.

External factors include the economic and political climate, social and technological change. Internal factors include the needs of our customers, the organisation and our employees. There are two frameworks that can help:. PEST analysis is a strategic business tool traditionally used by organizations to evaluate macro-economic factors which can impact the business. It examines opportunities and threats due to Political, Economic, Social and Technological forces.

Regardless of which framework you choose, performing this type of analysis gives your the lay-of-the-land in terms of what is happening in the external business environment. Armed with this information, you can make informed decisions.

It helps organisations evaluate the status quo. This is where strategies are transformed into action plans that can be implemented. Goals and objectives are set, and the metrics that matter are determined. For example, ask your team to come to a brainstorming meeting with three suggestions already formulated.

If they bring a problem to you, coach them by asking questions like:. Likewise, make an effort to discuss your ideas with different people. Many Sensitive Strivers are verbal processors and need to talk things out, either with a coach or a colleague who can offer a different perspective. One of my clients came to work with me after receiving feedback that his penchant to play it safe was holding back his team — and holding the company back as a result.

We worked together to help him find a balance between driving higher performance from his team without burning them or himself out in the process.

He started small, by rolling out low-stakes pilots that he gradually expanded as he got results and feedback. This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. More From Forbes. Trusted, competent strategic thinkers enable a culture that is agile , empowered and collaborative. Greg Githens, PMP, is an executive and leadership coach.

Develop Your Competency. Contribute to Success. To learn more, email Greg , visit his website or follow him on Twitter GregGithens. Stay up to date on the latest articles, webinars and resources for learning and development.

Strategic Thinking Enhances Personal Leadership People demonstrate leadership when they choose to step into the leadership zone. How to Develop Good Habits of Mind Perhaps one of the most important thinkers in history, Benjamin Franklin, used an interesting technique of focusing on one virtue per week. Trusted, competent strategic thinkers enable a culture that is agile, empowered and collaborative.

Are You Strategic?