Most of us are paid to think. We are paid to make decisions, and decisions require thinking. The better our thinking, the better our decisions. Decisions are about choosing what to do – simple right? Not at all, especially when the stakes are high and you really need a plan that will work, when you have too many options and you need an intelligent way of narrowing them down, and when your resources are limited so you have to use them wisely. This is where taking the time to think strategically makes us far more likely to make good decisions – and by good, I mean decisions that help us achieve our goals.
Thinking strategically to make decisions about ‘what to do’ to achieve a certain goal is the same thing as creating a strategy. Not all of us would say that we create strategy as part of our jobs, but all of us would say that we make decisions about what to do. So, let’s not get caught up in that word strategy. Strategic thinking is, in essence, a process of linking decisions about what to do to a zoomed-out perspective that includes what you are trying to achieve, your purpose, and the context in which you are operating.
The times when the stakes are high and we really need a plan that will work are the times that we are more likely to be feeling under pressure. Stress affects our thinking, so unfortunately, right when we need it most, it can be both more important and more difficult to get the best out of ourselves. When the stakes are high, being deliberate and considered about our decisions gives them the best chance of success. Taking the time to zoom out and having a concrete way of linking our decisions to that zoomed-out perspective is key. Having a framework for thinking this way allows you to observe your thinking and modify any gaps, and if others understand the framework it allows you to share the burden and nut things out together in strategic conversations.
Having a plan that will work involves making a choice – a decision to do one thing over another. Often, we can find ourselves faced with too many options and possibilities. Too many ways to skin the cat, too little guidance on what approach to take, or too many opinions on how to solve a problem, or even on what the problem is. There's a body of research that shows that when faced with too many options, we tend to delay decisions, default to the safest option, or avoid choosing altogether. Strategic thinking can help because, when done well, it requires us to define the challenge we are facing and zoom in on a carefully chosen choice, but there's an art to this.
All of what we’ve discussed so far comes into even sharper focus when you consider your resources. Time, money, people, attention, energy, commitment. They are all finite, and when they are constrained, it becomes all the more important to ensure our decisions about what to do make the best use of our resources. When thinking strategically, resources are considered both in the big picture and the detail. They guide the choice of approach, as well as determine the actions.
Despite the fact that thinking is what most of us are paid to do, we don’t spend much time thinking about thinking. Or learning to think. Doing our best thinking will mean making our best decisions, and the cleverest decisions are strategic. Strategic thinking is also useful for planning and implementing change, for leading people, and for having important insights and seeing what others don’t – insights, going full circle, are important for deciding, changing and leading.
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