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4 Ways to Develop Your Strategic Thinking Skills

• 10 Sep 2020

Think back to the last time you participated in a strategic planning meeting for your organization. You were likely presented with a challenge to solve or goal to achieve.

Do you remember your contributions during that meeting? Did you offer compelling ideas and plot a course of action, or find it difficult to think strategically and develop a solution? Did you have a good idea, but struggle to communicate it in a logical way? Were you an active participant in the conversation, or did others helm it?

Strategic thinking skills are among the most highly sought-after management competencies. Why? Because employees capable of thinking critically, logically, and strategically can have a tremendous impact on a business’s trajectory.

If you want to improve your strategic thinking skills, the good news is that, with the right mindset and practice, you can.

Here are four ways to improve your strategy skills , so the next time you’re involved in a strategic planning meeting, you can ensure your contributions are noticed.

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What Are Strategic Thinking Skills?

Strategic thinking skills are any skills that enable you to use critical thinking to solve complex problems and plan for the future. These skills are essential to accomplish business objectives, overcome obstacles, and address challenges—particularly if they’re projected to take weeks, months, or even years to achieve.

Strategic thinking skills include:

• Analytical skills: To ideate a strategy that helps your organization reach its objectives, you must be capable of analyzing a variety of inputs—from financial statements and KPIs , to market conditions, emerging business trends, and internal resource allocation. This initial analysis is crucial to creating a strategy that aligns with the current reality facing your organization.
• Communication skills: Putting a strategy into place for your company, regardless of its size, requires solid communication skills . The ability to communicate complex ideas, collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, build consensus, and ensure everyone is aligned and working toward shared goals are all central to strategic thinking.
• Problem-solving skills: Strategic planning is often used to solve problems or address challenges, such as missed financial targets, inefficient workflows, or an emerging competitor. Implementing a strategy that addresses the central challenge you face requires you to first understand the problem and its potential solutions. From there, you can craft a strategy that solves it.
• Planning and management skills: Strategy isn’t just about thinking of a solution—it involves implementation, too. Once data has been analyzed, the problem is understood, and a solution has been identified, you need strong planning and management skills to bring everything together.

How to Improve Your Strategic Thinking Skills

1. ask strategic questions.

If you want to improve your strategic thinking skills, one of the simplest things you can do is ask more strategic questions. Doing so allows you to exercise your planning skills, become adept at spotting opportunities, and develop a more strategic mindset you can leverage throughout your career.

According to the Harvard Business School Online course Disruptive Strategy , strategic questions can relate to a challenge, opportunity, or ambiguity you face in your current situation, whether personal or professional. They might, for instance, relate to launching a new business or product, beating a competitor, or structuring your organization for innovation.

It’s also important that your questions apply to your role and responsibilities so you can act on them.

Some examples of strategic questions you might ask include:

• How can we strategically position ourselves to enter a new market?
• What’s the direction for growth for each of our products or services?
• Where will the organization's growth come from in the next five years, and how does it compare with where growth has historically come from?
• How should the organization respond to the threat presented by potentially disruptive competitors ?

2. Observe and Reflect

In addition to asking strategic questions, you need to answer and address them skillfully. One of the most effective ways of accomplishing this is to observe and reflect on your current situation, ensuring any strategy you conceive is grounded in facts.

For example, imagine that the business you work for has begun losing market share for one of its products among its traditional customers. At the same time, it’s gained market share from an entirely new customer base. It’s easy to assume why this might be happening, but doing so can lead you down the wrong path at a critical moment in your organization’s existence.

Instead of blindly following an assumption, gather as much information as possible to use when crafting your strategy. For example, this might include conducting user interviews with new customers to identify the different jobs they hire your product to perform.

Understanding why new customers are attracted to your product can enable you to tailor your marketing strategy and product development to better embrace their needs .

3. Consider Opposing Ideas

Once you’ve landed on a strategy that can help your organization reach its goals, question your assumptions, and put your hypothesis through rigorous testing. By doing so, you can ensure you’re not overlooking another possibility.

Playing devil’s advocate with your ideas can allow you to preemptively identify weaknesses in your argument, and equip you to defend your strategy when others ask questions. It can also help you sharpen the logic skills you need to communicate and execute your strategy.

To develop this skill, get in the habit of questioning yourself any time you’re about to make an assertion. Should you consider a different perspective? Is there another possibility you may have overlooked?

4. Embrace Formal Training

By practicing the methods described above, you can improve your strategic thinking skills at your own pace. However, there are other learning options you can pursue.

If you need to quickly ramp up your strategy skills—to address a pressing need your organization is facing, position yourself for a new role, or finally launch your own business—formal training might be your best option.

For example, by enrolling in the online course Disruptive Strategy , you can discover how to make innovation a reality for your organization. Over six weeks, you’ll learn about the jobs to be done framework and disruptive innovation theory, and build skills to identify and execute high-level strategy.

Cultivating a Strategic Mindset

Whether in the long- or short-term, a strategic mindset can be developed through self-exploration, critical questioning, and formal training.

The advantage of having a strategic mindset is learning how to think rather than what to think. Although you might not always have the right answers, strategic thinking skills can empower you to spot new opportunities, address emerging challenges, and plan for future success.

Are you looking to develop a strategic mindset? Explore our portfolio of online strategy courses and download the free flowchart to determine which is the best fit for you and your goals.

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One of the most important soft skills life science leaders can master is strategic thinking – an ongoing, evolving process that defines how you arrive at conclusions and make decisions. It is the ability to think outside the box, envisaging new solutions to age-old problems. It can allow you to see opportunities that others miss. In a turbulent, competitive market, strategic thinking can give you an edge over the opposition.

Soft skills (personal attributes, personality traits and communication techniques) are highly sought in the workplace. They characterise how you go about your duties and interact with peers. Soft skills are mission-critical for executives leading their team and organisation to success.

You can’t learn soft skills on a course. They are honed through everyday interactions and experiences in your personal and professional lives. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn soft skills; it just takes a little self-reflection and a commitment to venture outside your comfort zone.

In this insight, we explore how to master strategic thinking skills and apply them to your business.

The Importance of Strategic Thinking Skills

Adopting a strategic mindset is essential for life sciences executives tasked with increasing profits, delighting customers, and retaining talent. To remain competitive, life science organisations must chart a course in a business environment that is in a constant state of flux, and be prepared to change direction at a moment’s notice. In addition to the marketplace, companies must be ready to respond to changes in:

• Consumer behaviour

Strategic thinking encompasses creativity, strategic planning and operational planning to help you determine the most effective course of action for your given situation. It accounts for the “what”, “why”, “how”, and “when”. In short, strategic thinking increases your odds of success. 

The Benefits of Strategic Thinking in Leadership

Aside from keeping your company level, mastering the art of strategic thinking maximises your efficiency and strengths as a business leader. It helps you think logically and take the most direct route towards achieving your objective. Below are three additional benefits when you use strategic thinking:

Open-minded approach

People often approach a problem with a preconceived solution in mind. This is usually because this approach worked in similar situations in the past. The life sciences sector is in a constant state of flux, thanks partly to technological and regulatory change and inroads in research. What worked historically does not guarantee success today.

Constantly Question

When you think strategically, nothing is taken for granted. The life sciences are characterised by constant change; companies whose leaders have a rigid way of responding to new situations will have trouble staying relevant. Seeing beyond the horizon maximises your chance of staying relevant.

Comprehension

Strategic thinking requires you to view a problem or situation from multiple perspectives, to take the most logical approach that delivers the greatest outcome. The result is a deeper understanding of the problem, allowing you to evaluate different solutions and the pros and cons of implementing each.

When you step outside of traditional ways of thinking and problem solving, the result could be rewards that were unattainable due to more limited way of doing things in the past. Examples include an innovative new research style that yields superior results or a new product that turns out to be a breakaway hit with customers. Henry David Thoreau once stated, “It is not enough to be busy… the question is: what are we busy about?” When you think strategically, you challenge assumptions and focus on sourcing and developing opportunities to create value for the business.

The Strategic Thinking Process

As touched upon earlier, strategic thinking includes ideation, strategic planning and operational planning to arrive at decisions and strategies that have a greater chance of success.

Step 1: Ideation

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. We talk about potential impact because we won’t know for certain whether they deliver their intended benefit until you apply them in the real world.

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 you can improve something)
• Importance (how valuable the outcome is to your business)
• Ease (how difficult it is to implement)
• Score (rate out of ten for each criteria, and you have 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.

Step 2: Strategic Planning

Ideas prioritised, it’s time to turn them into strategies. 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. There are several variations of the framework including PESTLE, STEEPLE, STEER and STEEP. 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.

SWAT analysis , in contrast, helps organisations identify their Strengths and Weaknesses, as well as Opportunities and Threats. It helps organisations evaluate the status quo. It’s best to deploy your SWAT and PEST analysis in unison. Start with PEST analysis and use the results to inform your SWAT analysis. For best results, regularly conduct SWAT and PEST Analysis.

Step 3: Operational Planning

This is where strategies are transformed into action plans. Set your goals and objectives, and determine which metrics matter. Goals are outcome statements the define what the organisation is trying to accomplish. Objectives, in contrast, are specific, measurable, actionable and time-bound conditions that must be attained to reach the intended goal. Don’t downplay the significance of the measurable aspect of objectives. By defining the metrics that matter, you can determine the degree to which you are making ground towards achieving your goal

Apply Strategic Thinking in Time-Sensitive Scenarios

While the above steps help your apply strategic thinking to arrive at informed business decisions and strategy, it is not intended for time-sensitive scenarios where rapid decisions are required. In these circumstances, you will likely have hours, even minutes, to arrive at a decision that could have far-reaching consequences for the organisation. How do you make informed decisions quickly?

You need to focus on solutions, not ideas. Brainstorm as many potential solutions to the problem as you can, then use the PIES framework to prioritise the best. This does not have to be a formal process. Just be sure to weigh up the probability, impact and ease when deciding which solution to pursue. Where possible, involve key stakeholders; have them rate each solution with PIES, too.

If your timeline to reach a decision is measured in hours or minutes, you won’t have time to conduct PEST or SWAT analysis. Instead, go with the PIES framework and continue to operational planning; crafting an action plan to deliver your solution in as short a time-frame possible. However, it is worth noting that, by conducting regular PEST and SWAT analysis, when you come to make business-critical decisions, you will already be armed with the information to help you arrive at an informed decision. Consider conducting PEST and SWAY analysis on a quarterly basis.

How to Improve Strategic Thinking Skills

The ability to think strategically is rapidly becoming the deciding factor in who becomes a leader and who remains a follower. The life science industry is so fast-paced that executives, managers, and entrepreneurs have to take a holistic approach to problem-solving and decision making on a day-to-day basis. Here are five ways you can apply strategic thinking: 

Prioritise tasks

Go over your tasks, decide which ones can wait, and brainstorm ideas you can contribute to the success of your organisation. Always action those task that will provide the greatest benefits today, and leave lesser tasks for tomorrow. Ask yourself, “what is the one task I can do today that will leverage the most benefit?”

Be aware of bias

Everyone has biases.  Take charge of your mind by questioning your thoughts. Do you hold them because they are logical or because they’ve served you well in the past? Admitting to some flawed thinking does not diminish your ability to do your job. On the contrary: you are now thinking strategically.

Improve  listening skills

Once you accept that your beliefs may contain flaws and how to overcome them, the next step is to improve your listening skills. Talk to your co-workers, employees and broader network and let their perspectives teach you new ways of thinking. Maintain an open mind, be receptive to feedback, and evaluate everything you hear. 

Hone questioning skills

Strategic thinking makes you consider everything you see. This is not the same as being cynical: you’re collecting and weighing facts, not dismissing ideas or traditions. Ask if an idea is rational, with a credible source and any proof to support its value. Taking time to question something and understand why it is being proposed.

Understand the consequences

All decisions have consequences. After listening to ideas and points of view, carefully consider the potential impact of each one. What are its pros and cons? Which one is most likely to help the organisation meet its goals? This step will help you make an informed decision, and over time, making the strategic choice will come naturally.

Mastering the art of strategic thinking will do more than generate better ideas or improve your decision-making. When you encourage employees to think more critically, you build a framework that makes you a better leader, protects your business from future uncertainties, and gives you an optimal chance of achieving long-term career success.

Are you a strategic thinker?

How can you tell if you are a strategic thinker? The following comparisons of attitudes and scenarios can help you determine your thinking style and identify areas you can improve upon.

Strategic thinkers:

• Look towards and embrace the future, whatever it may hold.
• Are willing to work hard today to reap the benefits tomorrow.
• Don’t limit themselves to the ‘tried and true’ or ‘best practice’.
• Assign greater importance to ideas with the greatest impact and return.
• Change their approach to a problem or situation according to circumstances.
• Are lifelong learners who actively seek knowledge and sharing it with others.
• Are ‘creative’ individuals who think outside the box.

Non-strategic thinkers:

• Tend to be reactive: they wait for guidance and rarely present new ideas.
• Are introspective and take an interest in anything beyond their immediate responsibilities.
• Prefer the status quo and d on’t always take the time to think about long-term goals.
• Approach all tasks the same way, typically without urgency.
• Are hesitant about changing their strategy even when doing so could yield better results.
• Remain content with their current capabilities and lack motivation to learn more.
• Are predictable individuals who prefer to follow a set path.

One of the things that life science CEOs and senior executives ask themselves is how they can encourage more strategic thinking across their organisations. It’s not a simple matter of saying to their employees, “I want you to start thinking more strategically.” As this article has shown, strategic thinking is a mindset, a way of examining different things and linking them in a manner that is both logical and adds value. The steps presented here can turn it into a habit.

The key is to keep an open mind, which allows for creative problem-solving, and get rid of all preconceptions, which can cloud your thinking. You may find value where you least expected it.

For more career advice tailored to senior managers and executives in the life science industry…

• Read  Work Less, Achieve More: How To Improve Your Work-Life-Balance .

* Fraser Dove International is a talent consultancy operating exclusively across the life sciences industry. While our roots lie in executive search, we provide more than the traditional recruitment services. Uniquely placed within the market, we have been providing cutting-edge talent solutions and insight to organisations at all stages of their journey – from start-up to established leaders – since 2013.

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20 Essential Strategic Thinking Exercises for Maximum Impact

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Strategic thinking is a crucial skill for business leaders, managers, and employees in today’s fast-paced, competitive world. It involves generating long-term goals, anticipating trends, and making informed decisions to gain a competitive advantage. In this article, we will explore various strategic thinking exercises that can help you and your team think more strategically, strengthen your strategic thinking skills, and become a strategic thinker.

The Importance of Strategic Thinking Exercises

Strategic thinking is essential for leadership, creativity, and achieving an organization’s goals and objectives. It allows business leaders to analyze their company’s position, envision new ideas, and develop a strategic plan to execute those ideas. By encouraging strategic thinking, managers can foster an environment where employees are continually seeking new ways to improve the organization and achieve positive outcomes.

Exercises to Enhance Strategic Thinking Skills

In this article section, we will explore 20 exercises specifically designed to enhance your strategic thinking skills. Strategic thinking techniques are essential for leaders to navigate complex challenges, make informed decisions, and drive organizational success.

These exercises will help you sharpen your strategic thinking abilities, expand your perspectives, and unleash your creativity. By engaging in these exercises, you will cultivate a strategic mindset and develop the skills necessary to tackle the ever-evolving business landscape. Get ready to strengthen your strategic thinking muscles as we dive into these 20 exercises!

1. Scenario Planning

Scenario planning is an exercise that encourages participants to envision various future scenarios for their organization. By brainstorming potential situations, team members can anticipate potential challenges, develop new ideas, and create actionable plans to tackle those challenges. This exercise helps to improve strategic thinking skills by allowing participants to analyze trends, evaluate the possible outcomes, and customize their approach based on the insights gained.

2. Brainzooming

Brainzooming is a team-building exercise that promotes strategic thinking by challenging participants to generate new ideas and solve problems creatively. In this exercise, team members are encouraged to think outside the box and explore new perspectives. By combining creativity with strategic thinking, participants can develop innovative solutions that deliver a competitive advantage.

3. SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that helps individuals and organizations identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This exercise allows participants to evaluate their current situation, anticipate future trends, and develop strategies to address potential challenges. By understanding their organization’s position, participants can make informed decisions and execute plans that align with their goals.

4. Objective Setting

Setting clear objectives is a critical step in strategic thinking. This exercise involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your organization. By focusing on your goals and objectives, you can ensure that your strategic thinking efforts are aligned with your organization’s priorities and desired outcomes.

5. Competitive Analysis

Understanding your competitors is essential to strategic thinking. In this exercise, participants are encouraged to analyze their competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By evaluating the competitive landscape, team members can develop strategies to differentiate themselves from their competitors and gain a competitive advantage.

6. Trend Analysis

Trend analysis is an exercise that focuses on identifying emerging trends and understanding their potential impact on your organization. By staying informed about industry trends, participants can anticipate changes, adapt their strategies, and capitalize on new opportunities.

7. Communication Skills Development

Effective communication is vital for strategic thinking. In this exercise, participants are encouraged to practice their communication skills by presenting their ideas, engaging in discussions, and collaborating with others. By improving their communication skills, team members can better articulate their strategic vision and gain buy-in from others.

8. Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a visual tool that helps individuals and teams organize their thoughts, ideas, and information. By creating a visual representation of your ideas, you can better understand the relationships between different concepts and identify new connections. This tool can be particularly useful for brainstorming, problem-solving, and strategic planning sessions.

9. PESTLE Analysis

PESTLE analysis is a strategic tool that examines the external factors affecting an organization. It stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors. By assessing these factors, you can identify potential opportunities and threats in the external environment and develop strategies to address them. This analysis helps to broaden your perspective and consider various external influences on your organization.

10. Gap Analysis

Gap analysis is a tool that helps you identify the difference between your organization’s current state and its desired future state. By understanding the gaps in performance, resources, or capabilities, you can develop targeted strategies to bridge those gaps and achieve your goals. This tool can be useful for strategic planning, resource allocation, and performance improvement initiatives.

11. Game Theory

Game theory is a strategic tool that examines decision-making and interactions between different players in a competitive environment. By using game theory, you can understand the potential outcomes of various strategic decisions and develop optimal strategies based on the behavior of other players. This tool can be particularly helpful for understanding competitive dynamics and developing strategies to outperform your competitors.

12. Balanced Scorecard

The balanced scorecard is a strategic management tool that helps organizations track their performance across multiple dimensions, including financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth perspectives. By monitoring performance across these dimensions, you can ensure that your strategic initiatives are balanced and aligned with your organization’s overall objectives. This tool can be useful for performance measurement, strategic planning, and decision-making.

13. Porter’s Five Forces

Porter’s Five Forces is a strategic analysis tool that helps organizations understand the competitive forces within their industry. The five forces include the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of buyers, the threat of substitute products or services, and the intensity of competitive rivalry. By analyzing these forces, you can develop strategies to enhance your competitive position and achieve long-term success.

14. Reverse Brainstorming

Reverse brainstorming is a creative problem-solving exercise that involves identifying potential problems instead of solutions. By focusing on potential issues, participants can gain a deeper understanding of the challenges they face and develop strategies to prevent or mitigate them. This exercise encourages strategic thinking by requiring participants to anticipate potential obstacles and develop proactive solutions.

15. The Six Thinking Hats

The Six Thinking Hats exercise, developed by Edward de Bono, is a technique that encourages participants to approach problems and decisions from different perspectives. The six hats represent different modes of thinking: white (facts and information), red (emotions and feelings), black (critical judgment), yellow (positive aspects), green (creativity and new ideas), and blue (process and organization). By switching between these different modes of thinking, participants can develop a more comprehensive understanding of the situation and develop well-rounded strategies.

16. Role Playing

Role-playing exercises require participants to assume different roles within a hypothetical scenario. By stepping into the shoes of others, participants can gain a better understanding of different perspectives, anticipate potential reactions, and develop strategies that consider the needs and motivations of various stakeholders. This exercise enhances strategic thinking skills by encouraging empathy and a broader understanding of the situation.

17. The Five Whys

The Five Whys exercise is a technique used to identify the root cause of a problem by asking “why” five times. By continually asking why a problem exists, participants can uncover the underlying issues and develop targeted strategies to address them. This exercise encourages strategic thinking by requiring participants to analyze problems deeply and develop long-term solutions.

18. Pre-Mortem Analysis

A pre-mortem analysis is an exercise that involves imagining that a project or initiative has failed and then identifying the reasons for the failure. By anticipating potential pitfalls and challenges, participants can develop strategies to prevent or mitigate those issues before they occur. This exercise promotes strategic thinking by encouraging participants to think critically about potential risks and develop proactive solutions.

19. Blue Ocean Strategy

The Blue Ocean Strategy exercise encourages participants to identify untapped market spaces and create new demand by developing innovative products or services. By focusing on differentiation and low cost, participants can create a competitive advantage and achieve long-term success. This exercise enhances strategic thinking skills by encouraging innovation and the exploration of new opportunities.

20. The Four Quadrant Matrix

The Four Quadrant Matrix is a strategic decision-making tool that helps participants prioritize tasks or initiatives based on their importance and urgency. By categorizing tasks into four quadrants (urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither urgent nor important), participants can allocate their resources and time more effectively. This exercise encourages strategic thinking by requiring participants to evaluate priorities and make informed decisions.

Encouraging Strategic Thinking in Your Organization

To encourage strategic thinking within your organization, consider implementing workshops, team-building exercises, and brain training activities that focus on strategic thinking skills. Providing employees with the tools and resources to think strategically can lead to increased innovation, improved decision-making, and a more successful organization.

In conclusion, strategic thinking exercises are essential for developing the skills necessary to become a strategic thinker. By practicing these exercises regularly, individuals and teams can improve their ability to anticipate trends, evaluate potential challenges, and develop innovative solutions to achieve their goals. Take the time to invest in your strategic thinking skills and watch your organization thrive in today’s competitive landscape.

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5 Steps to Excellent Strategic Thinking Skills for Managers

What are strategic thinking skills, what is the importance of strategic thinking skills for professionals, how to improve strategic thinking skills five effective ways.

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Strategic Thinking Examples at Work

• Market Expansion Strategy : A manager assesses market trends, identifies emerging opportunities in new regions, and develops a comprehensive expansion plan. This involves analyzing market dynamics, understanding local regulations, and devising strategies to gain a competitive edge.
• Resource Allocation : In a budgetary decision, a manager considers the long-term impact of allocating resources to different projects. They prioritize initiatives that align with the organization’s strategic goals, optimizing resource utilization for maximum return on investment.
• Crisis Management : Faced with a sudden crisis, such as a supply chain disruption, a manager uses strategic thinking to quickly evaluate the situation, identify alternative suppliers, and implement a contingency plan. This proactive approach minimizes disruptions and maintains business continuity.

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4 Ways to Improve Your Strategic Thinking Skills

by Nina A. Bowman

Summary .   

If you’ve ever received feedback that you “need to be more strategic,” you know how frustrating it can feel. To add insult to injury, the feedback rarely comes with any concrete guidance on what to do about it. One of my coaching clients, Lisa, a vice president of HR, was in this situation and explains, “I was just told to think bigger picture and to be more strategic. It felt like I had been given the definition of a word by using the same word. It just wasn’t helpful.”

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Strategic Thinking Definition, Skills, Examples, and Steps

Published: 29 January, 2024

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Welcome to Digital Leadership, where we are committed to harnessing emerging technologies and innovative business models to better serve customers. As experts in innovation and digital transformation, our mission is to guide organizations in creating value for all stakeholders, supporting them from strategic conceptualization to effective execution. The ability to think strategically is a cornerstone for success, strategic thinking centres on discovering and cultivating distinctive opportunities to enhance organizational value.

Digital Leadership’s expertise in strategy and execution, invites business entrepreneurs to delve deeper into the realms of strategic thinking for enduring success. We provide Strategic Management Consulting services to empower businesses to elevate their strategic acumen and navigate the complex landscape of value creation . Through collaborative initiatives, we guide organizations in unlocking unique opportunities and ensuring enduring success in today’s dynamic business environment.

Find out how we can help you

Corporate training, innovation consulting and much more.

This article delves into the intricacies of strategic thinking , outlining its definition, key characteristics, and its vital role in both leadership and business. We will explore the steps to develop strategic thinking skills and provide real-life examples to illustrate its application. As we navigate through this exploration, we will differentiate strategic thinking from strategic planning and highlight its significance in digital transformation strategy.

What is Strategic Thinking?

Strategic thinking is centred on identifying and cultivating distinctive opportunities that can generate value for your organization. It asserts that even non-statistically significant data in various forms deserves thorough consideration to inform decisions about the future. It is a multifaceted concept that goes beyond mere planning. It involves the ability to analyze situations, anticipate future trends, and make informed decisions that contribute to an organization’s long-term success.

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The UNITE Perspectives On Strategy – A Framework For Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking is a crucial element of effective leadership, involving the ability to envision and plan for the future while navigating the complexities of the present. It goes beyond day-to-day tasks, focusing on long-term business goals and adapting to dynamic environments. Strategic thinking and strategic planning, while interconnected, serve distinct roles in organizational development and decision-making. Strategic thinking is a continuous and dynamic mental activity that envisions the future, identifies opportunities, and fosters innovation. It emphasizes creativity, adaptability, and a proactive mindset, laying the conceptual foundation for an organization’s direction.

Strategic planning is a systematic process that translates strategic thinking into actionable plans. It involves setting specific goals, defining measurable objectives, and outlining the steps and resources needed for implementation. While strategic thinking explores possibilities and challenges assumptions, strategic planning focuses on specific actions, resource allocation, and timelines. Strategic thinking is future-oriented and adaptable, providing the vision upon which strategic planning builds the roadmap for organizational development. Both are essential components, working collaboratively to navigate the complexities of the business landscape.

At Digital Leadership, strategic thinking is perceived as the art of proactively shaping an organization’s future. This involves anticipating challenges, recognizing opportunities, and aligning resources effectively. To delve deeper into the intricacies of strategic thinking and its role in crafting innovative business strategies , explore the insights provided in our book, “How to Create Innovation.” It serves as a comprehensive guide, offering valuable perspectives on navigating the dynamic landscape of strategic decision-making and fostering a culture of innovation within your organization.

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Strategic Thinking Skills

Enhancing strategic thinking skills is crucial for effective decision-making and leadership. Here are key skills compiled from various sources:

• Active Listening: Engage attentively to comprehend diverse perspectives.
• Analytical Skills: Utilize data and insights to make informed decisions.
• Implement the Plan: Execute strategies efficiently to achieve business goals.
• Observing and Seeking Trends: Stay vigilant to identify emerging patterns and trends.
• Question Everything: Foster a questioning mindset to challenge assumptions.
• Strategic Thinking: Cultivate the ability to envision and plan for the future.
• Understand the Consequences: Evaluate potential outcomes and impacts.
• Articulate Your Goals Clearly: Clearly express your objectives for better alignment.
• Being Creative: Embrace creativity to generate innovative solutions.
• Communicate Clearly: Convey ideas and strategies with clarity.
• Consider Opposing Ideas: Encourage diverse viewpoints for comprehensive decision-making.
• Critical Thinking: Assess information objectively to make well-founded decisions.
• Get Other Perspectives: Seek input from different sources to broaden your understanding.
• Learn and Improve: Embrace a continuous learning mindset for personal and professional growth.
• Vision and Purpose: Align decisions with a clear vision and overarching purpose.
• Prioritization: Effectively prioritize tasks and goals based on strategic importance.
• Adaptability: Be flexible and adapt strategies to changing circumstances.
• Ask Strategic Questions: Pose insightful questions to deepen strategic insights.
• Be Aware of Bias: Recognize and mitigate personal biases in decision-making.
• Analysis: Break down complex situations into manageable components for analysis.
• Scenario Planning: Anticipate potential scenarios and plan accordingly.

These skills collectively contribute to developing a robust strategic thinking mindset, essential for navigating complex business landscapes.

How to Develop Strategic Thinking Skills

Acquiring the art of strategic thinking is a developed skill, not an innate talent. This section outlines practical steps to guide individuals in enhancing their strategic thinking skills . Tailored for aspiring strategic thinkers and leaders, these steps offer valuable insights to successfully navigate the complexities of the business landscape.

(1) Pose Thoughtful Queries for Strategic Insights

Challenge conventional wisdom by formulating insightful questions that stimulate critical thinking, fostering a deeper understanding of issues and encouraging innovative solutions.

(2) Observe, Reflect, and Stay Informed

Allocate time to observe industry trends and changes, reflecting on these observations to gain valuable insights that inform strategic decisions.

(3) Embrace Diverse Perspectives Through Opposing Ideas

Foster a culture that values diverse viewpoints, actively seeking and considering opposing ideas to formulate well-rounded and robust strategic plans.

(4) Invest in Continuous Learning and Professional Development

Systematically refine strategic thinking skills through continuous learning. Enroll in courses, workshops, or programs dedicated to enhancing strategic thinking.

(5) Master Your Organization and Industry Dynamics

Acquire in-depth knowledge of your organization, industry, and market sector to make informed strategic decisions based on a comprehensive understanding of internal and external factors.

(6) Prioritize Strategic Thinking with Dedicated Time

Schedule specific time slots for focused strategic thinking in your routine. Utilize this time to address fundamental questions about your organization’s direction, challenges, and opportunities.

(7) Effectively Communicate Strategic Insights to Influence

Cultivate strong communication skills to articulate strategic insights clearly. Effective communication is pivotal for gaining support and buy-in for proposed strategic initiatives.

By systematically incorporating these steps into your professional journey, you actively develop and refine your strategic thinking skills. This intentional approach empowers you to confidently navigate the complexities of strategic decision-making.

Strategic Thinking Examples

Strategic thinking manifests in various scenarios, demonstrating its impact on organizational success. Below are real-life examples showcasing how strategic thinking has influenced key decisions and outcomes:

• Distinguish between urgent and important tasks to allocate resources efficiently and achieve optimal outcomes.
• Strategically allocate resources based on the prioritization of tasks, ensuring maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
• Systematically analyze customer feedback to identify trends and insights, informing strategic decisions for product enhancements and customer satisfaction.
• Develop a strategic roadmap by setting both long-term and short-term business goals aligned with the organization’s overarching vision.
• Utilize past sales data to derive insights, identify patterns, and inform strategic decisions for future product development and market positioning.
• Conduct thorough market analysis to identify gaps and opportunities, allowing for strategic entry or expansion into specific market segments.
• Evaluate the alignment between products and market demands, ensuring a strategic fit that resonates with the target audience.
• Develop and implement a deliberate brand positioning strategy that aligns with market trends, consumer preferences, and organizational values.

These examples showcase how strategic thinking is applied across various facets of business operations. By integrating these practices, organizations can foster a strategic mindset, leading to informed decision-making and sustainable success.

In a real-world scenario, imagine a tech company facing fierce market competition and disruptive technological shifts. A strategic thinker in the managerial role would first pinpoint the challenges: intense competition and the impact of tech disruptions. By actively analyzing industry trends and asking crucial questions, such as how to stand out in a crowded market, strategic thinking takes shape.

Encouraging team discussions to gather diverse perspectives ensures a comprehensive understanding of potential strategies. Crafting innovative solutions collaboratively, like exploring unique product features or strategic partnerships, follows. Proactively anticipating future challenges and formulating contingency plans showcase the hands-on nature of strategic thinking.

Effective communication of the strategic vision is crucial. Aligning stakeholders, fostering commitment to the plan, and conveying a well-defined vision are integral. This example highlights that strategic thinking is not just theory; it’s a practical skill with tangible outcomes in navigating complex business landscapes.

What is Strategic Thinking in Leadership

Strategic thinking in leadership goes beyond day-to-day decision-making; it involves a comprehensive approach to envisioning and navigating an organization’s future. It’s the capability of leaders to analyze the current landscape, anticipate future challenges and opportunities, and formulate innovative strategies to drive the organization toward success. Here’s a deeper exploration of what strategic thinking entails in leadership:

• Visionary Leadership: Strategic thinking leaders possess a visionary outlook, setting a clear and inspiring direction for the organization’s future.
• Long-Term Planning: Instead of focusing solely on immediate concerns, strategic leaders plan for the long term, considering sustainable growth and evolution.
• Adaptability: Leaders who think strategically are adaptable, and ready to adjust strategies in response to changing circumstances and market dynamics.
• Risk Management: They evaluate risks meticulously, making calculated decisions that balance potential rewards with potential pitfalls.
• Innovation Advocacy: Encouraging innovation is a key aspect. Strategic leaders foster a culture where novel ideas are valued, leading to continuous improvement.
• Decision-Making: Strategic thinking leaders make decisions based on a holistic understanding of the organization’s goals, industry trends, and competitive landscape.
• Collaborative Approach: They understand the importance of collaboration, seeking input from diverse teams to enhance the quality of strategic decisions.
• Communication Skills: Effective communication is paramount. Leaders articulate the strategic vision in a way that inspires and aligns the entire organization.
• Alignment with Values: Strategic leaders ensure that strategic initiatives align with the organization’s core values and mission.
• Continuous Learning: Leaders committed to strategic thinking engage in continuous learning, staying informed about industry advancements and emerging trends.

In essence, strategic thinking in leadership is about proactively shaping the organization’s future, and making informed choices that lead to sustained success and relevance in a dynamic business environment.

Key Characteristics of Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking is a multifaceted skill encompassing various key characteristics that contribute to its effectiveness. These attributes set strategic thinkers apart and form the foundation for navigating complex business landscapes. Here are the key characteristics of strategic thinking:

• Forward-Thinking: Strategic thinkers have a future-oriented mindset, anticipating trends, challenges, and opportunities to proactively shape the organization’s destiny.
• Analytical Acumen: The ability to analyze vast amounts of information, discern patterns, and derive meaningful insights is crucial for strategic thinking.
• Innovative Vision: Strategic thinkers embrace innovation, seeking novel solutions and envisioning possibilities that disrupt conventional norms.
• Adaptability: Recognizing the dynamic nature of the business environment, strategic thinkers are adaptable and agile in responding to changes and uncertainties.
• Holistic Perspective: They consider the bigger picture, understanding the interconnectedness of various elements within and outside the organization.
• Risk Assessment: Strategic thinkers evaluate risks objectively, weighing potential rewards against potential drawbacks and making informed decisions.
• Long-Term Orientation: Rather than focusing solely on short-term gains, strategic thinkers prioritize long-term objectives and sustainable growth.
• Open-Mindedness: Embracing diverse perspectives and being receptive to new ideas fosters a climate of creativity and robust strategic planning.
• Effective Communication: Strategic thinkers communicate their vision and plans clearly, ensuring alignment and understanding throughout the organization.
• Results-Driven: Ultimately, strategic thinkers are driven by results, aiming to create lasting value and impact for the organization’s stakeholders.

These key characteristics collectively empower individuals to think strategically, guiding organizations toward success in today’s dynamic and competitive business landscape.

Strategic Thinking in Business

Strategic thinking in the realm of business is a dynamic and critical process that involves the exploration and refinement of existing business models . This approach entails a comprehensive evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in the current model. By strategically thinking, businesses can foster innovation, identify new revenue streams , optimise operational processes, and adjust to the evolving demands of the market. This strategic perspective is essential for staying competitive and ensuring long-term success in the business landscape.

Applying Strategic Thinking to Business Models

Strategic thinking serves as a catalyst for transforming and optimizing traditional business models. This process entails a meticulous examination of the current model, pinpointing both its strengths and weaknesses. Through strategic thinking, businesses can unleash innovation by exploring novel revenue streams, refining operational processes, and adapting to the ever-changing landscape of market demands. This application of strategic thinking is instrumental in steering businesses towards resilience, growth, and sustained success.

The Business Model Canvas becomes a crucial tool in the strategic thinking process. It provides a visual framework for understanding, designing, and reinventing business models. By leveraging the canvas, organizations gain insights into key components such as value proposition , customer segments, channels , and cost structures. This clarity enhances strategic decision-making and fosters a more agile and adaptive business model.

The UNITE Business Model Canvas

The significance of strategic thinking in digital transformation.

In digital transformation, strategic thinking holds immense significance. It serves as the guiding force that shapes and directs the course of digital initiatives. It ensures a holistic approach, considering not only technological aspects but also the broader implications on business models, processes, and customer experiences. By strategically navigating the complexities of the digital transformation strategy , organizations can leverage emerging technologies effectively, enhance operational efficiency, and stay ahead in the competitive digital landscape. The application of strategic thinking becomes a linchpin for organizations aiming to achieve meaningful and sustainable digital transformation outcomes.

Real-Life Examples of Strategic Thinking in Business

To illustrate the tangible impact of strategic thinking, let’s delve into real-life examples where organizations successfully applied this approach to achieve remarkable outcomes.

• Apple Inc.: Apple’s strategic thinking is evident in its continuous innovation and product development. The introduction of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad showcased a forward-thinking approach that revolutionized the consumer electronics industry.
• Amazon: Amazon’s strategic thinking is exemplified in its customer-centric model and diversification. The company started as an online bookstore and strategically expanded into diverse product categories, cloud services (AWS), and even original content creation.
• Tesla: Tesla’s strategic thinking is embodied in its pursuit of sustainable energy solutions. The decision to focus on electric vehicles, solar energy, and energy storage reflects a long-term vision that goes beyond automotive manufacturing.
• Netflix: Netflix’s strategic thinking is evident in its shift from a DVD rental service to a global streaming platform. Embracing digital disruption, Netflix strategically invested in original content creation, transforming the entertainment industry.
• Google: Google’s strategic thinking is showcased in its commitment to innovation. From dominating the search engine market, Google expanded into diverse areas such as online advertising, mobile operating systems (Android), and artificial intelligence.

Differentiating Strategic Thinking from Other Types of Thinking

Thinking is a multifaceted cognitive process that varies across different contexts and objectives. Let’s delve into the distinctions between strategic thinking and other types of thinking:

• Strategic Thinking: Involves envisioning the future, identifying opportunities, and devising plans to achieve long-term goals.
• Critical Thinking: Focuses on analyzing, evaluating, and forming judgments about information or situations, emphasizing logical reasoning.
• Strategic Thinking: Emphasizes planning and decision-making for achieving organizational objectives, often involving a systematic approach.
• Creative Thinking: Involves generating novel ideas, solutions, or approaches, fostering innovation and unconventional thoughts.
• Strategic Thinking: Encompasses a holistic view, considering the overall direction and positioning of the organization.
• Analytical Thinking: Concentrates on breaking down complex problems into smaller components for in-depth examination and understanding.
• Strategic Thinking: Primarily concerned with defining goals, formulating plans, and aligning resources to achieve a predefined vision.
• Design Thinking: Centers around a human-centric approach, empathizing with end-users, and iteratively prototyping solutions for complex problems.
• Strategic Thinking: Focuses on organizational strategy, often involving hierarchical planning and coordination.
• Systems Thinking: Considers the interrelated components and relationships within a system, emphasizing holistic understanding and feedback loops.
• Strategic Thinking: Involves dynamic, adaptive, and non-linear planning, considering various scenarios and external influences.
• Linear Thinking: Follows a sequential and step-by-step approach to problem-solving without necessarily accounting for broader systemic factors.
• Strategic Thinking: Concentrates on forward-looking planning, often in a structured manner, to gain a competitive advantage.
• Lateral Thinking: Encourages unconventional and creative approaches to problem-solving, challenging traditional thought patterns.

Understanding these differences is crucial as it highlights the versatility of thinking processes and underscores the need for a well-rounded cognitive toolkit, incorporating strategic thinking when long-term planning and vision are paramount.

In conclusion, strategic thinking is the compass that guides businesses through the complexities of today’s ever-evolving landscape. By developing and nurturing strategic thinking skills , organizations can pave the way for sustained success and create value for everyone they serve. At Digital Leadership, we are passionate about empowering organizations to embrace strategic thinking. If you’re ready to elevate your strategic approach, contact us today for a transformative journey from strategy to execution.

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Ideas and insights from Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

Strategic Thinking: Because Good Ideas Can Come From Anywhere

As part of our update to the Harvard ManageMentor Strategic Thinking topic, we asked Mason Weintraub, Director of Digital Engagement at Oxfam America, about the importance of strategic thinking. Here’s what Mason had to say:

I often think I’m expected to have all the answers about what to do with digital strategy. But the reality is that I lead a very talented team, and one of the ideas that we have tried to engender on the team is that good ideas can come from anywhere.

“Good ideas can come from anywhere.” Most of us recognize the wisdom embedded in that statement, yet we still see strategy as the realm of our organization’s senior leaders. That may be because of our tendency to equate strategic thinking with strategic planning. Although these practices are related and equally necessary for organizational success, they are actually quite distinct.

Strategic planning vs. strategic thinking

In strategic planning, leaders gather data and decide on the path the organization will take to achieve its goals. With strategic thinking, employees at all levels and in all functions continually scan for new ways to contribute to the organization’s success. They apply those insights as they carry out organizational priorities and provide input to the overall strategy. In this way, strategic thinking is part of everyone’s job – whatever their role or level of responsibility.

Why is this ability to think strategically especially important now? Today’s organizations are more dispersed and less hierarchical than ever before. With the pace of change continuing to rise, it’s no longer feasible for people to wait for “orders from above.” All employees must keep an eye on the future, not just react to what’s happening in the present. They need to look beyond their functional areas to become aware of the bigger context in which they operate. And they have to be agile learners who identify opportunities by challenging their own and their team’s assumptions about how things work in their organization and industry.

Becoming a strategic thinker

With strategic thinking taking on even greater importance in organizations, we’ve made key updates to the Harvard ManageMentor Strategic Thinking topic. The content we’ve added is geared to helping people boost their productivity and effectiveness by making strategic thinking a habit, and includes practical ways that enable them to do so.

One practice is simply making the time to think strategically – something that’s not always easy in today’s fast-paced business settings. Another involves inviting dissent on your team. To make strategic decisions, you need people on all sides of an issue to speak their minds. By letting team members know that speaking up is an important part of their jobs, you free them to provide important input.

Other strategic thinking practices are useful for training yourself to see opportunities and threats well before they happen. For example, most of us are comfortable using convergent thinking – analysis, logic, and reasoning – to come up with the “best” option from a set of choices. We tend to be less adept at divergent thinking, which involves generating lots of ideas with the goal of finding innovative solutions. This isn’t an either-or process: When you first diverge as a team to generate ideas and then converge on a path forward, you improve your ability to design and implement strategic actions.

Don’t let the future surprise you

The future will undoubtedly look a lot different from today. No one can predict tomorrow, but by identifying different scenarios, you and members of your team stretch your thinking about what opportunities and threats might emerge, how they might impact your organization, and what you can do about them. You learn to enact truly meaningful change rather than make incremental improvements. And it all begins with strategic thinking.

How do you foster strategic thinking throughout your organization?

Janice Molloy is a content researcher with Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at  [email protected] . 

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We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.