Strategic Thinking

UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson referred to himself as an optimist who carries a raincoat.
Suggested Video.
What is Strategy?
This video looks at four main questions - 
​
  • Where do we compete?
  • What is unique to our products / services?
  • What resources do we have? 
  • How can we sustain what we offer?

NOTE:
  • Strategies may just emerge from activity.
  • The best strategy may fail if the timing is wrong.
Wellness.
​
  • Be patient:  Good strategy is about the future.  Having committed to your strategic plan it is important that you give it time to grow, mature and deliver the results you were aiming for.
  • ​Become aware: By being aware you will give yourself the best opportunity to anticipate the future needs of your company, employees and customers.
  • Don't automatically accept or reject anything. Investigate and test everything:  Opportunities present themselves every day but will be missed by those too closed-minded and/or risk averse.  As Pooh told a worried Piglet, 'let's suppose the worst doesn't happen'.
  • Use your years of experience wisely: Acknowledging the past helps us to plan a successful future.
  • Be happy:  Content yourself with the knowledge that strategic thinkers make changes today that will provide benefits tomorrow.
​​Sun Tzu advises that with many plans a leader has some chance of winning.  With only a few plans there is little chance of winning and with no plans - pack up and go home!
More Suggested Videos.
1. Six Lessons for the Modern Strategist.  
2. ​Keynote Speech on Strategic Thinking.
3. Overview Strategic Planning Process.

What's Next?

In the book Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, author Richard Rumelt  suggests that the main duty of a leader is to recognise problems and create well thought out plan(s) to surmount them.  This gives us our start.  To create good strategies we need to -
  1. Be creative.  Some of the best achievements in history come from innovation.
  2. Be realistic.  Imagination can lead to amazing places where anything is possible. Theoretical advances, like Leonardo da Vinci's flying machines, are fantastic but, the lead-in times needed (whilst technology catches up with the theoretical) turn strategy into dreams.
  3. Have a vision.  A clear and detailed view of your future is needed before you begin making plans.
  4. Listen to others.  Different views create perspective. If you only listen to your own 'inner-voice' you will only think within the confines of your own experience.
  5. Take your time.  The benefit of planning for the future is that time is on your side. Whilst planning cannot go on forever, there is no need to rush.