How to Think Strategically

Are you an executive, team leader, or business owner who needs to learn how to think strategically? If so, then check out the 5-step roadmap from internationally recognized author and professor Jamie Turner. Or, just watch the short video below.

Transcript: In today’s episode, I’m going to show you how to think strategically – something that all leaders should know how to do.

Let’s do this.

(Snap)

If you’re an executive, manager, or team leader, then you need to know how to think strategically.

The problem is that a lot of people don’t have a system to help them do that.

But I have a system that was taught to me by a mentor that I’ve used for decades in order to think strategically.

Now, in a nutshell, strategic thought is about understanding big picture insights, and then seeing ways that you can leverage those insights to accomplish your goals.

The problem for many people is that you’re immersed in day-to-day tasks that prevent you from taking a step back and seeing the big picture.

So, here’s a five step process that you can use to overcome that and to think strategically.

Step one: Collect all the data you can that relates to this initiative. This data can come from internal sources, blog posts, newspaper articles, competitive reports … you name it. But get all the data you can.

Step two: Carve out some quite time. This needs to be at least 3 hours or, if it’s a big initiative, a series of 3-hour chunks.

Step three: Grab a big sheet of paper – not letter sized or legal sized, but as big as possible.

Start writing down the information from your articles, reports, blog posts … everything. Group the information into categories as you go along.

These categories will reveal themselves to you as you write things down. They might be categories like business background, customer insights, competitive landscape, industry threats or any other categories.

Again, the categories will come to you as you start writing the information down on the pad.

Also, don’t be afraid to draw charts, graphs, or diagrams as part of this exercise.

Step four: Connect the dots. In other words, start looking for patterns or insights in all of the information you’ve collected.

On the corner of your pad, start jotting down ideas that pop into your head that can help you accomplish your goal.

These ideas should come to you naturally as you write down all the data. What happens is that by writing down all the information and seeing how it all fits together, you’re able to connect the dots in a way you hadn’t been able to before.

By the end, you’ll have anywhere from 5 to 20 big ideas or strategies that can help you accomplish your goals.

Step five: Narrow the ideas down to the 3 or 4 strategies that are the most likely to work. And then start the process of developing an executional plan to turn those strategies into reality.

It’s a simple process. Deceptively simple. But if you follow the steps outline here, you’ll see that this system can help you think strategically and accomplish your goals.

Now, if you’re interested in learning more about leadership and business, be sure to click on this video or subscribe to this channel by hitting the link below.

My name is Jamie Turner. I’m an author, a Professor, and a management consultant. And I’ll catch you next time.