So many industries face upheaval because of new technology right now that it’s probably easier to list those that aren’t. Technology is changing our worlds in many ways, but I’d like to examine one that affects everyone: market access. This is simply the ability for you to connect with customers, and vice versa. Historically, industries […]
Continue readingDuring a few strategic planning meetings in the last couple of years, I’ve noticed something that probably won’t surprise you: I started to get annoyed that we were spending too much time on things that weren’t important. This is one of the most common complaints about strategic planning, and it’s a valid one. Here are […]
Continue readingHuman beings, it turns out, are both good and bad at anticipating the future. We can accurately predict things that flummoxed people 100 years ago – like where a hurricane will make landfall, or the likelihood of a volcanic eruption. We also can foresee the implications of some of our most pressing strategic decisions. However […]
Continue readingThe eleventh critical skill in strategic thinking is patience – the ability to wait. This is not just waiting to act – it is about waiting to judge and decide an issue. This critical skill is important for three key reasons. 1. Great strategic thinking requires adequate thought and information. Both information and thought require […]
Continue readingStrategic Planning should not be a one-and-done business process. As a rule, your organization should conduct annual strategic planning even though it’s time horizon is typically multiple years. Why, you ask? Isn’t a strategic plan valid for more than one year? No, for a number of reasons. First, if the rate of change in your […]
Continue readingThe tenth critical skill in strategic thinking is the ability to suspend judgment. Better strategic thinkers should consider ideas and explore possibilities before they impose any evaluation. This does not mean that a strategist never applies judgement. It means that they should apply analysis without judgment before they critique ideas. Openness is a critical skill […]
Continue readingThe ninth critical skill in strategic thinking is honesty. Great strategic thinkers can balance their tremendous creativity with a sense of realism and honesty about what is achievable in the longer term. This ability to balance is not an obstacle to their accomplishments. Many strategic thinkers refer to themselves as realistic optimists. How does this […]
Continue readingThe eighth critical skill for great strategic thinking is seeking advice. Great strategists rarely make strategic decisions by themselves. They usually prefer to get input from people who are closer to the issues. They also highly value the input of people who may simply have much different perspectives from their own. This is listening, but […]
Continue readingThere are almost as many definitions of customer loyalty as there are companies which try to build and sustain the concept. Some of the components are common, however. Let’s take a look at some of them. The first component is dependability. What do many companies mean when they strive to be recognized as dependable? In […]
Continue readingThe seventh strategic thinking skill may not seem like a skill at all. Taking time to recharge yourself, however, is an absolutely crucial strategic thinking skill. This key item both improves productivity and allows for separate, rich strategic thinking. Taking time out isn’t just about self-care and recharging, although those are important benefits. Taking time […]
Continue readingLifelong learning, the sixth key ability that is crucial to great strategic thinking, is constant. The learning we are talking about here is not limited to your area of expertise or your line of business. Conversely, it extends to learning about anything that may enhance your understanding of the world and how it works. First, […]
Continue readingStrategic awareness is critical to strategic thinking. This includes not just awareness of the immediate situation, but awareness of a wide range of internal and external factors that you can use to guide the future direction of your organization. Three key attributes in people that have strategic awareness. First, they consume information prodigiously. It’s not […]
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