Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Can you describe strategic thinking? Or Strategy (from Linked In discussion)

From Linked in Groups

How would I answer the question:

It means the ability to think through on how to use the available (little or none) resources, and with a set of activities/choice of activities to meet a desired goal nothing more/nothing less.

This involves though:

1.  Having your nose close to reality and changing environment;

2.  Being aware of competitive pressure/forces

3. Thinking clearly

4.  Being relevant always to the goal

Find out if I come close to the Linked In thoughts.


Here is a reprint of the other comments

Can you describe Strategic Thinking in one sentence? Manager's Choice

Sales and Marketing Manager - ONCOLOGY at Merck Top Contributor
I've seen a couple of descriptions of strategic thinking, but would be great to share your experience.

Comments


  • Joseph Donato
    Joseph
    Joseph Donato
    Regulatory Submissions Management & Operations, Global Regulatory Affairs
    I think it might be easier to define quantum physics but here is my attempt: Someone possessing a Strategic Thinking ability, a divergent style of thinking which I believe is truly an innate talent and not something that can be taught, is able to envision ways of action or solutions or readiness (flexibility) as they can see patterns and connections among seemingly unrelated or chaotic elements. This is not the same as having the ability to “See the Big Picture” in my opinion which is more or less understanding how things work together within a given context.
    Bohumil B., Eleanor C. and 37 others like this
  • Kevin Dennis CPSM
    Kevin
    Kevin Dennis CPSM
    Global Standards Director at GS1 US
    Strategic thinking is the ability to focus on the vision of where you want things to be in the future both in the short and longer term and then ensuring that your actions and decisions are defined by that mindset.

    People will read that and ask what I mean by short and longer term future but that has to be defined for you in terms of the goals and objectives you are after. For me personally the short term mind set would be a minimum of 6 months down the road and long term would be anything from 3-5 years out.

    I once was provided some constructive feedback because I needed to focus more on the "strategic" side of things and spend less time on the tactical side. Instead of being say 50/50 on both I needed to focus on strategic 75% of the time and tactical 25% of the time.
    Tina E., Bohumil B. and 48 others like this
  • Guru Guruswamy
    Guru
    Guru Guruswamy
    Associate Director - Cognizant Business Consulting (QA/Testing)
    I agree with Kevin.

    It is the ability to clearly visualize the future and create a winning formula to reach there successfully/effectively!

    Joseph - I did a bit of studying Quantum Physics 22+ years back! I am smiling at the parallel you drew for Strategic Thinking & Quantum Physics! :-) Both cannot be mastered with a visionless person!
    Joseph D., Lamoriu L. S. and 24 others like this
  • Ajay Kaul
    Ajay
    Ajay Kaul
    Sr. Manager - IT at Qualcomm
    Implementation plan based on a business environment in the future
    Deniz K., Christopher J S. and 6 others like this
  • Mundo Vega
    Mundo
    Mundo Vega
    BUSINESS PLANNING MANAGER – COMMERCIAL FINANCE MANAGER
    Dream first.
    Catherine H., Bohumil B. and 13 others like this
  • Stefanie Karp
    Stefanie
    Stefanie Karp
    Vice President, Business Process and Performance Improvement at American Trucking Associations
    Start with "why" then proceed to "what" and finally move on to "how" - that's strategic thinking, in a nut shell.
    Cynthia M., Guru G. and 84 others like this
  • Loiseau, Karl-Henri
    Loiseau,
    Loiseau, Karl-Henri
    Manager HR Learning and Development at OppenheimerFunds
    I usually reach back to a war metaphor whenever I need to understand what strategic - and tactical - mean in a situation. For example, tactical bombing such as the kind that spurred early German success was meant to support combat by destroying the troops on the ground and their equipment. On the other hand, strategic bombing (a key element in Allied victory) was focused on winning the war over the long term by destroying enemy infrastructure, supply lines, industrial production capacity, fuel reserves and even demoralizing the population. Translated into a business context, I would define Strategic Thinking as focusing thoughts, energies, actions on the larger context of a business objective as opposed to the presenting challenge of the moment. Of course, this is just a start. That definition may give an intuitive sense of the focus areas in question, but the current circumstance of the person and their areas of influence may dictate what strategic and tactical really mean for them.
    David M., Bohumil B. and 20 others like this
  • Nathan Kehr
    Nathan
    Nathan Kehr
    Marketing Manager at KMC Controls | Business Development, Marketing, and Sales Professional
    My humble opinion is that you can construct a skeleton of strategy by answering three simple questions: Is this a good idea? Is this a good idea for us? Can we execute on this idea better than anyone else?
    Alex J., Ibrahim N. and 8 others like this
  • Dave Chapman
    Dave
    Dave Chapman
    CHM and CEO of NorthPoint ERM
    Not an easy one to answer ..but here is one idea

    Identifying and validating the unmet and unidentified needs of the enterprise and the market and solving them with Best In Class performance
    Patty O., Bohumil B. and 5 others like this
  • Jeff Peck
    Jeff
    Jeff Peck
    Software Implementation Consultant
    Top Contributor
    Thinking strategically requires that you know where you want to go - why you want to go there - and can create an effective plan to get there.
    Patty O., Bohumil B. and 15 others like this
Joseph Donato
Joseph
Joseph Donato
Regulatory Submissions Management & Operations, Global Regulatory Affairs
I appreciate Ehtisham's observation that Strategic Thinking and Strategic Planning are being collapsed into one definition. Further, I think it more a worthy endeavor to identify and retain true strategic thinkers as this talent actually cannot be taught. I'm in full agreement with Gina Bichara's insightful view that strategic thinkers need to have an environment that fosters this. Creating a plan takes skill for sure but people who actually have the ability to think (process information) strategically are rarely recognized and given the opportunity to truly express in these terms in our corporate and risk averse cultures. Allow this with appropriate challenge and certainly with a structured execution plan and you can move closer to having an innovative edge...
Gina B., Lamoriu L. S. and 4 others like this
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