The fourth critical skill for strategic thinking is the ability to create adaptive strategies. This includes the ability to design flexibility into your plans by creating an ability to review and adjust your progress on your strategies. Adaptive strategies are valuable in both strategy formulation and execution. In strategy, it helps you avoid setting a […]
Continue readingIts important to follow a few basic strategic planning steps to build team commitment. When your team gets together to initiate/update your strategic plan, what is everyone looking to get out of the process? Naturally, nearly everyone has their own personal interests and perceived needs and wants. How do you merge their individual approaches with […]
Continue readingSMART objectives plus the ability to develop a strategic action plan is the third critical skill for strategic thinking. Set SMART objectives and know how you will implement them. Break down each objective into tasks and make a list of needed resources and a specific timeline for each task . When we say “SMART objectives […]
Continue readingA clear, focused vision is a critical skill for strategic thinking. There are three key benefits to having a clearly defined and focused vision. 1. A good vision will draw you forward, and define the larger undertaking that drives your activities. Think about the difference between NASA in the 1960s, when they – and the […]
Continue readingThe ability to analyze issues using both “left brained” and “right brained” thinking is critical to really great strategic thinking. In business, many of us have a tendency to lean on one or the other type of thinking. Truly strategic thinking, however, involves a more holistic understanding of situations. This is at least partly because […]
Continue readingEvery so often, I encounter questions about whether an objective is a good one. Over the past 30 years, I’ve watched many hundreds of objectives set, and most of them completed. I’ve seen some have great positive effects on companies and a few that turned into disasters. As a result, here are a few things […]
Continue readingAn assumption I sometimes encounter is that strategic planning only yields predictable, middle of the road actions for a company. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Strategic planning sets an appropriate course for your business that maximizes growth-ability, profit-ability and survive-ability. Sometimes that course stays in familiar territory, and sometimes the course can go […]
Continue readingI ask this question, partly, because all too often I hear people say their companies aren’t ready for strategic planning. Let’s take a look at what you need to be truly ready for strategic planning. 1. An operating business This seems like an easy one, but quite often people talk with us about strategic planning […]
Continue readingHelp! We don’t have time for strategic planning! I’ve heard variations of this plea dozens of times in the past few years. Clearly, some companies get into situations where the management team needs to focus on specific issues that come up – either by design or happenstance. Maybe your company is one of them. How […]
Continue readingCEOs often find their strategic plan is not strategic and not well thought out. How can you prevent that from happening? How do you uncover the real issues facing your company? For successful strategic planning, don’t start cold and be sure you have a robust process. First of all, the team should be the top […]
Continue readingMost executives and their teams agree that they should plan the future course and direction of their organization with strategic planning. This is to help them optimize the overall results, both top line and bottom line, for their organization. How many people think beyond the basics of strategic planning to consider the deeper implications? They […]
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