Why think strategically

Thinking strategically takes discipline, clarity and quite frankly, guts. It may stretch you beyond your comfort zone. Often, it requires challenging the familiar status quo by driving conversations beyond a tactical level toward broader outcomes and results.

The trick to thinking strategically is to cultivate the habit of having a laser like focus on outcomes and results, rather than communications tactics. A great place to start is to ask the question: What does success look like? Once that definition of success is clear and, critically, that everyone agrees to it , you can then shape a communications approach to get you there.

All of us strategic communicators know the importance of keeping on top of advances in social media and figuring out what they mean for our work. This is because enacting a strategy to influence across an organization you have to constantly balance more factors than I care to list here.

It can be terrible when defining a problem, especially in the details. This is because I tend to think and do at the same time. Always looking for the points of connection, decision, action, and transition between phases that lead to the outcome. A strategy informs a coherent plan to achieve the desired outcome. It guides the tactics and methods used to implement the plan. A strategy is written down and shared across an organization it is not something only one person keeps in their head, we all hope.

Any effective strategic mideset requires flexibility. Stop, gather, assess, understand, redefine, and reimplement framework. My intellectual differences, like being ADD and Dyslexic, have become beneficial to me in this arena. This enables me to, I think, have a tiny advantage.

Understanding why new customers are attracted to your product can enable you to tailor your marketing strategy and product development to better embrace their needs. It can also help you sharpen the logic skills you need to communicate and execute your strategy.

Should you consider a different perspective? Is there another possibility you may have overlooked? By practicing the methods described above, you can improve your strategic thinking skills at your own pace. However, there are other learning options you can pursue. If you need to quickly ramp up your strategy skills—to address a pressing need your organization is facing, position yourself for a new role, or finally launch your own business—formal training might be your best option.

For example, by enrolling in the online course Disruptive Strategy , you can discover how to make innovation a reality for your organization. Whether in the long- or short-term, a strategic mindset can be developed through self-exploration, critical questioning, and formal training. The advantage of having a strategic mindset is learning how to think rather than what to think. Although you might not always have the right answers, strategic thinking skills can empower you to spot new opportunities, address emerging challenges, and plan for future success.

Are you looking to develop a strategic mindset? Explore Disruptive Strategy , a six-week online course designed to cultivate the skills needed to craft winning strategies, or other online Strategy courses. Tim Stobierski Author Contributors. Strategic thinking skills include: Analytical skills: To ideate a strategy that helps your organization reach its objectives, you must be capable of analyzing a variety of inputs—from financial statements and KPIs , to market conditions, emerging business trends, and internal resource allocation.

This initial analysis is crucial to creating a strategy that aligns with the current reality facing your organization.