Dilbert: "Can you at least tell me what our company strategy is?"
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~ Scott Adams

 

What is Strategic Thinking?

 

Strategic thinking is a mental process that focuses on being innovative in examining and reflecting on the overall goals of your job, team, and organization. It focuses on developing insights for finding and developing unique opportunities to create value by enabling an open and creative dialogue among people who can effect an organization's direction. It is thinking that is longer-term oriented and involves a systemic and comprehensive view of your environment. Strategic thinking is disciplined thinking that focuses not only on the desired outcomes of an enterprise, but also on the relationships between the elements of an organization along with continual feedback about results in order to find the leverage points that best achieve its desired outcomes.

 

Another way to define strategic thinking is that it is thinking that centers on the elements of business strategy. According to strategy consultant Rich Horvath, business strategy can be defined as the effective application of a limited set of resources through a unique system of activities to outperform the competition in serving customers. Thinking strategically, then, focuses thought on how to best apply these resources to generate optimal strategic behaviors throughout an organization.

 

Strategic behavior generally involves doing different things than competitors or doing similar things in a different way to gain an advantage (Porter 1996). It is usually viewed within the context of outperforming the competition, but it can also be applied to overcoming obstacles of a non-competitive nature that stand in the way of success (e.g., avoiding a potentially costly union strike). An effective business strategy is critical to effective organizational performance because it articulates an organization's plan for overcoming the challenges presented by external factors such as competitive activity, market characteristics, economic conditions and government regulations. Additionally, an effective business strategy embodies the objectives of organizational processes and characterizes the attitudes and values of its people.

 

Strategic Thinking vs. Strategic Planning

 

It is important to recognize that strategic thinking is not the same as strategic planning. The concept of strategic planning was first introduced in a business context in the mid-1950s. At the time, it was adopted primarily by large companies who referred to it as long-range planning. Since then formal strategic planning has evolved to the point where virtually all large organizations and many smaller ones have implemented some sort of strategic planning initiatives and use them to regularly update their business plans.

 

Strategic planning is a management tool that helps organizations focus their energy to ensure their members are working toward the same goals. Strategic thinking is used to assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment. In short, strategic planning is a disciplined effort for arriving at fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guidehow an organization will achieve its strategic objectives with a focus on the future. Unfortunately, in many cases strategic planning involves simply looking at last year's strategic plan, changing it slightly and moving on.

 

Strategic thinking is comprised of a collection of skills that can be learned and used on a daily basis to generate business insights about what an organization should do. It involves the generation of insights for developing and updating the strategic business plan. Strategic thinking is essential for developing a business plan. If business planning is implemented without strategic thinking, the plan is likely destined for failure because the essential "identification of strategy"component is missing.

 

Key Elements of Effective Strategic Thinking:

• Defining Vision, Mission and Values

Vision describes the way an organization or enterprise will look in the future. Vision is a long-term view, sometimes describing how the organization would like the world in which it operates to be. For example, a pharmaceutical company might have a vision statement which reads "A World without Cancer."

 

Mission defines the fundamental purpose of an organization or an enterprise, succinctly describing why it exists and what it does to achieve its vision. For example, a training department might state its mission as "helping people achieve their true potential."

 

Values are beliefs that are shared among the stakeholders of an organization. Values drive an organization's culture and priorities and provide a framework in which decisions are made. For example, "Knowledge and skills are the keys to success" or "our people are our most important asset" express organizational values.

• Establishing the Competitive Advantage

It takes more than operational effectiveness to succeed in most endeavors. In a competitive environment, an enterprise must distinguish itself from its competitors. There are several avenues from which to approach this including price, quality and convenience. Factors that can affect such decisions have to do with market dynamics (number of competitors, positioning of competitors, market saturation, etc.), internal capabilities (e.g., product/service characteristics, financial resources, production/marketing capabilities) and general economic conditions.

• Critical Success Factors

Critical success factors address the important elements that are deemed necessary for a business to achieve its vision and mission. Critical success factors might include:

• achieving credibility
• maintaining product quality standards
• finding needed resources
• cutting-edge technology
• profitability
• establishing internal and external communication standards

• SWOT Analysis

Among the most useful tools for strategic thinking is a SWOT Analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The main objective of this tool is to analyze internal and external strategic factors relative to an organization's success. A SWOT Analysis provides information that is helpful in matching a firm's resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates.

 

The SWOT process is about arriving at fundamental decisions about choices to be made and actions to be taken in order to respond to the questions mentioned above. These decisions then form the foundation of an organization's strategic plan. The resulting strategic plan is ultimately no more, and no less, than a set of decisions about what to do, why to do it, and how to do it. Because it is impossible to do everything that needs to be done, strategic thinking implies that some organizational decisions and actions are more important than others and that much of the importance of strategic thinking lies in making the tough decisions about what is most important to achieving organizational success.

• Group Brainstorming

Group brainstorming can help identify ways to make an apparently uncontrollable variable manageable. It is important that the group "stands outside the problem" and views it in a different framework or opposing perspective. If an uncontrollable variable is limiting an organization's effectiveness, an open-minded, every-idea-counts brainstorming session should be implemented to see what alternative solutions might emerge from the group thinking process. Including a variety of people such as line workers, supervisors, administrators from different department as well as customers in an organization's brainstorming session will potentially produce the best results.

 

When everyone participates in the strategic thinking process, all will work harder to carry out the organization's plans and projects. Organization leaders can't buy this kind of motivational interest. For strategic thinking to work, however, they must demonstrate strong support for such a process and play an integral role in its activities.

• The Role of Facilitators

Skilled, independent facilitator(s) are recommended to assist with the process of conducting strategic thinking sessions leading to the developing a strategic plan. An independent facilitator managing the strategic planning process can assure everyone's participation and draw out all opinions. Additionally, small business assistance agencies can provide this assistance as well as product validation, market research and business advice.

Learn more about conducting strategic planning for your organization 

 

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Resilience is the ability to successfully adapt and respond to difficult or challenging life conditions and experiences. Resilience has to do with effectively overcoming adversity, bouncing back from setbacks, managing stress and even growing in the face of significant challenges rather than becoming overcome by them. Resilient people are able to harness inner strengths that help them rebound from adversity such as a job loss, an illness, a disaster or the loss of a loved one. Resilience is the ability to roll with the punches. When stress and adversity strike, resilient people still experience anger, grief and pain, but they are able to keep functioning, both physically and emotionally.

 

Resilience can be defined as the human ability to recover quickly from disruptive change, or misfortune without being overwhelmed or acting in dysfunctional or harmful ways. Individual resilience is a person's ability to positively cope after failures, setbacks, and losses. The most resilient people recover from traumatic experiences stronger, better, and wiser. Those who lack resilience, on the other hand, tend to dwell on problems, feel victimized, become overwhelmed or turn to unproductive or even unhealthy coping mechanisms to get through undesirable situations.  Resilience isn't about toughing it out, being stoic or going it alone. In fact, being able to reach out to others for support is a key component of being resilient.

 

Resilience is the difficult-to-define quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than succumbing to failure and letting it diminish their resolve, resilient people find ways not only to overcome adversity, but to profit from it as well. Resilience won't make your problems go away, but it can give you the ability to see past them, find enjoyment in life and better handle stress. If you aren't as resilient as you'd like to be, you can develop skills to become more resilient.

 

The Importance of Personal Resilience

 

Resilience is essential in today's world. In today's workplace everyone feels the pressure to get more work done, with greater efficiency, with fewer resources and in less time. Things are changing so rapidly that everyone must learn how to continually deal with change, better cope with unexpected events, and overcome unwanted adversities.

 

Dealing with change or loss is an inevitable part of life. At some point, everyone experiences varying degrees of personal and professional setbacks. Some of these challenges might be relatively minor (missing a flight) while others can be disastrous (fires, hurricanes, wars). How we deal with these problems can not only have an impact on the current outcome, but also on the long-term emotional consequences. Some individuals come by resilience naturally, possessing personality traits that help them remain unflappable in the face of adversity. However, these behaviors are not simply due to inborn traits found in a select few individuals. According to many experts, the potential to be resilient is present in most everyone and the techniques for becoming more resilient can be learned.

 

Becoming More Personally Resilient

 

Developing resilience is a personal journey. Individuals do not react the same way to traumatic or stressful life events. An approach to building resilience that works for one person might not work for another. People use varying strategies to build their resilience. Because resilience can be learned, it can be strengthened. Personal resilience is related to many factors including individual health and well-being, individual aspects such as self-esteem and confidence, life history and experience, and social support. Psychologists have identified some of the factors that make a person resilient; among them are a positive attitude, optimism, the ability to regulate emotions, and the ability to see failure as a form of helpful feedback. As a result, even after a misfortune, resilient people are able to adapt, change course and move forward.

 

Some Practical Steps for Increasing Personal Resilience:

• Maintain a Positive Outlook
  Staying positive during difficult periods can be tough, but maintaining a hopeful outlook is an important part of being resilient. Being optimistic does not mean ignoring the problem in order to focus only on positive outcomes. It means understanding that setbacks are transient and that you have the skills and abilities to combat the challenges you face. What you are dealing with may be difficult, but it is important to remain hopeful and positive about a brighter future. Focus not on "why did this happen to me (victim mentality)?" but on "how can I learn from this situation (challenge mentality)?"

• Call on Your Inner Strengths
  Think about what got you through similar tough times in the past. Reflect on your frame of mind at the time. This will help you view your current situation as less threatening as well as increase your confidence to deal effectively with it. Knowing that you have gotten through such a circumstance in the past will give you the self-assurance that you can handle even bigger challenges in the present. Reminding yourself of your past accomplishments will increase your self-esteem and your ability to cope, recover and grow from difficult situations.

• Think Creatively
  Creativity is an essential art of resilience for two reasons. First, when adversity happens, things become ambiguous and the ultimate outcome is quite unclear. An effective approach for dealing with the adversity must be devised. Second, when the challenge has been finally overcome, the situation will likely be quite different than before and new behaviors will need to be implemented.

Clearly, people who are able to develop solutions to problems are better able to cope with their consequences. Whenever you encounter adversity, make a quick list of some potential ways to overcome it. Experiment with different strategies and focus on developing a logical way to work through common problems. Also, by practicing your problem-solving skills on a regular basis, you will be better prepared to deal with serious challenges that may arise in the future.

 

According to Al Siebert, Ph.D., author of The Resiliency Advantage when faced with adversity it is useful to remember that:

• Your mind and habits will create either barriers or bridges to a better future.


• Resiliency can't be taught, but it can be learned. It comes from working to develop your unique combination of inborn abilities.


• The struggle to bounce back and recover from setbacks can lead to developing strengths and abilities that you didn't know were possible.

Resilient people do not let adversity define them. They find resilience by moving towards a goal beyond themselves, transcending pain and grief by perceiving bad times as a temporary state of affairs.

 

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People often associate the topic of persuasion primarily with the concept of selling, but the importance of effective persuasion skills really pertains to every one of us regardless of our individual vocation. Every day each of us is involved to some degree in influencing the thoughts and actions of others. In fact, the path to success in life lies to a very large extent in gaining the cooperation of others. In this edition of Insights, we continue with our ongoing segment dedicated to the topic of persuasion.

 

Actions Can Indeed Speak Louder Than Words

 

While there are several obvious factors that can influence our effectiveness in communicating with others, there is one element that can convey volumes about us that most of us probably don't usually view as being within the context of interpersonal communication. This element has to do with what we do, our actions and deeds. I'm not referring here to body language, but rather to specific, distinct acts and behaviors.

 

The behaviors that we are observed doing in the present or that are believed by others that we have performed in the past can have a powerful impact on peoples' perceptions of us and as a result, directly influence our persuasive ability. Our actions over time can have a cumulative effect in defining who we are. They are usually represented by one's character and expressed in terms of a person's reputation.

 

A person's reputation can be a precious asset for achieving interpersonal effectiveness or it can become a major stumbling block. We have all probably heard the phrase "your reputation precedes you." The meaning of this phrase is that a person already has an impression about another person based on what the other person has said or done prior to the current interaction. This impression could be either positive or negative and could influence one's persuasion skills accordingly.

 

It is a fact of life that past behaviors usually predict future actions. Having an awareness of a person's past behaviors can play a dominant role in others' assessment of them. When interviewing for a job, for example, an applicant will try to be as persuasive as possible in communication his or her suitability for the open position. However, a skilled interviewer will usually ask questions relating to how the applicant handled specific issues and situations in the past (behavioral interviewing). From the applicant's answers, the interviewer will gain insights about the candidate's abilities and attitudes in these areas and draw conclusions about the applicant's overall qualifications for the job. What becomes important is not what the applicant says, but what the applicant has previously done.

 

Also, consider the impact of a person's credit report when applying for a loan at a bank. During the interaction between applicant and loan officer, the applicant tries to make a favorable impression in order to gain approval for the desired loan. He or she dresses appropriately, speaks politely, exhibits good manners and displays a positive attitude. However, there is virtually nothing the applicant can say, any way of saying it or any way of acting during the interview that will have as much impact on the loan officer's decision as the applicant's credit history. The simple three-digit score on the applicant's credit report communicates important information regarding his or her ability to repay, his or her reputation for paying on time and even reflects on the applicant's overall ability to manage money, and all of this is communicated without the applicant saying a single word.

 

Actions that are perceived as being inconsistent or contrary to the meaning of our words can possibly totally negate what we you are saying or perhaps, even convey the opposite meaning. On the other hand, if our actions are consistent or have been consistent with what we are saying and how we are saying it, they can have a strong reinforcing persuasive impact on a listener.

 

If you are trying to persuade a potential client that you will follow-up quickly on any questions or problems the client may have and you have a reputation for doing so, your persuasiveness will be significantly enhanced. Similarly, if you say you are sorry for something and your actions and behavior clearly demonstrate that you are, your apology will likely be accepted and your previous positive with the other person will be restored.

 

"Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying."  

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes (American Poet, and Essayist)

 

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