More on Strategic Thinking
In the previous article I started to explore what strategic thinking is and what strategic leaders think about. In this article, I have some ideas that you might use in order to get into the discipline of thinking strategically in the interests of making you more deliberately focused on creating sustainable competitive advantage for your organisation.
Strategic thinkers are good at scanning the internal and external landscape in order to ascertain where the business is in terms of its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (the good old SWOT). In considering strengths and weaknesses, they ask of themselves and others what internal capabilities give us a competitive advantage or put us at a disadvantage? They also consider how we meet or fail to meet the needs of key internal and external stakeholders. In considering opportunities and threats, they ask questions relating to current or possible future conditions in the external environment that might improve our chances of achieving our strategic vision if taken advantage of, or which might pose a risk if nothing is done to minimize their impact. Having done your own SWOT analysis, you might find it really useful to have SWOT conversations with someone significantly senior to you, someone in another part of the organisation, someone really creative and off the wall, and someone you regard as a really sound thinker. Compare your views with theirs and see what you have learned.
Having scanned the landscape, you have some good information on which to base a more creative process of visioning. The trick is to get out of a linear, logical, analytical thinking into a process that is more intuitive and visual and which somehow captures the emotions. There are many ways to do this that you could try. Here are just two examples:
So now we have scanned the landscape and are becoming increasingly clear on our vision – notice that even visioning is a process of increasing refinement and adjustment according to changing conditions. During this, and in other parts of the strategic process, strategic thinkers have a particular ability to examine things from different angles and reframe them when this proves useful.
Reframing involves questioning and testing beliefs and assumptions that prevail in the business, and finding new ways of seeing challenges, limitations and capabilities. In reframing, you might ask such questions as:
Strategic thinkers are good at scanning the internal and external landscape in order to ascertain where the business is in terms of its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (the good old SWOT). In considering strengths and weaknesses, they ask of themselves and others what internal capabilities give us a competitive advantage or put us at a disadvantage? They also consider how we meet or fail to meet the needs of key internal and external stakeholders. In considering opportunities and threats, they ask questions relating to current or possible future conditions in the external environment that might improve our chances of achieving our strategic vision if taken advantage of, or which might pose a risk if nothing is done to minimize their impact. Having done your own SWOT analysis, you might find it really useful to have SWOT conversations with someone significantly senior to you, someone in another part of the organisation, someone really creative and off the wall, and someone you regard as a really sound thinker. Compare your views with theirs and see what you have learned.
Having scanned the landscape, you have some good information on which to base a more creative process of visioning. The trick is to get out of a linear, logical, analytical thinking into a process that is more intuitive and visual and which somehow captures the emotions. There are many ways to do this that you could try. Here are just two examples:
- With a group of colleagues, build a collage that represents your collective vision for the business. Then discuss it. Use this to help you to articulate a verbal vision that will excite and inspire.
- Write a newspaper article that tells of your business’s success 4 or 5 years from now – something that might appear in the Financial Mail. As you read it, it should invoke feelings of pride at having been part of such a great success story. It should convey not only what the business has accomplished but also what kind of organisation it is and how it feels to be part of it. In the article, cite quotes, results and stories that encapsulate the company’s culture.
Encourage your peers to write similar articles – then share the stories, discuss them and use the conversation as a springboard for developing a shared vision
So now we have scanned the landscape and are becoming increasingly clear on our vision – notice that even visioning is a process of increasing refinement and adjustment according to changing conditions. During this, and in other parts of the strategic process, strategic thinkers have a particular ability to examine things from different angles and reframe them when this proves useful.
Reframing involves questioning and testing beliefs and assumptions that prevail in the business, and finding new ways of seeing challenges, limitations and capabilities. In reframing, you might ask such questions as:
- What could we be better at than anyone else in our industry? How might that change our business?
- Have you ever seen a herd of cows? What if there was a purple, spotted cow in that herd? How could your business become the purple, spotted cow of your industry?
- Is our business structured to serve our strategy, or are we crafting our strategy to serve our structure? What do we need to do differently?
- What would happen if we turned the whole business on its head?
- What are the biggest challenges facing us? How could we reinterpret these challenges more advantageously? What do we need to do in / with our business in order to make these challenges work to our advantage?
This ability to reframe assists strategic thinkers in helping others in the business to make sense of the environment, their challenges and how we need to face these together. Making common sense of a situation is really about creating some kind of shared understanding of what we are dealing with in circumstances that are complex and ambiguous. The creation of a shared understanding prevents some of the problems that come with implicit knowledge that is not clearly articulated. If you talk about the challenges facing the organisation and help people to understand them, they are better positioned to make their own decisions with these challenges in mind. This makes them better able to act appropriately and prevent or correct problems that can create confusion, such as when there appears to be contradictions between the priorities, policies and practices of different parts of the organisation – this becomes far less likely when there is a common understanding of the vision and strategy.
The creation of common understanding is the product of conversations with people in all parts of the organisation, such as:
Finally, strategic thinkers understand how systems work. They see complex interrelationships among different variables in the complexity of the business. They are able to pick up trends and patterns over time, and are able to test theories about what causes what, and the possible impact of various courses of action. They understand that there is a danger in merely seeking confirmation of what you already believe – so they purposely look for evidence that they might be wrong.
Try this:
Strategic thinking underpins all aspects of the strategic process. Perhaps you might try some of the tools and exercises we have shared with you in order to craft your strategy – you will discover how stimulating and fun strategy can be!
In the next article, I will begin to explore strategic acting. In the meantime, try coming at things from a completely different angle!
Recommended Reads
If you are interested in reading more about strategic leadership we recommend:
“Becoming a Strategic Leader” by Richard L. Hughes and Katherine Colarelli Beatty (ISBN 0-7879-6867-6).
“Leading Strategic Change – Breaking Through the Brain Barrier” by J. Stewart Black and Hal B. Gregersen (ISBN 0-13-046108-3)
“Blue Ocean Strategy” by W. Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgne (ISBN 1-59139-619-0)
“The New Strategic Thinking” by Michael Robert (ISBN 0-07-146224-4)
The creation of common understanding is the product of conversations with people in all parts of the organisation, such as:
- Exploring the strategic implications of different future scenarios
- Collaboration in creating visual representations of the vision
- Using stories to make common sense of the strategy
- Asking questions about how they see things and use this to deepen your understanding of their opinions
- Finding ways to discuss undiscussables
Finally, strategic thinkers understand how systems work. They see complex interrelationships among different variables in the complexity of the business. They are able to pick up trends and patterns over time, and are able to test theories about what causes what, and the possible impact of various courses of action. They understand that there is a danger in merely seeking confirmation of what you already believe – so they purposely look for evidence that they might be wrong.
Try this:
- Consider how your business is performing against targets and the vision.
- What causal relationships might be at play in this performance?
- How do you know you are right?
- What evidence can you find that you might be wrong?
- What can you learn from this that might inform your strategy?
Strategic thinking underpins all aspects of the strategic process. Perhaps you might try some of the tools and exercises we have shared with you in order to craft your strategy – you will discover how stimulating and fun strategy can be!
In the next article, I will begin to explore strategic acting. In the meantime, try coming at things from a completely different angle!
Recommended Reads
If you are interested in reading more about strategic leadership we recommend:
“Becoming a Strategic Leader” by Richard L. Hughes and Katherine Colarelli Beatty (ISBN 0-7879-6867-6).
“Leading Strategic Change – Breaking Through the Brain Barrier” by J. Stewart Black and Hal B. Gregersen (ISBN 0-13-046108-3)
“Blue Ocean Strategy” by W. Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgne (ISBN 1-59139-619-0)
“The New Strategic Thinking” by Michael Robert (ISBN 0-07-146224-4)
