Throughout my career, the word strategic has taken on more nuanced definitions than almost any other word I’ve encountered. To add to the confusion, I think each, in its own way, was probably correct. That is, strategic thinking and planning are relative to the position you’re in.
The factors leaders at different levels consider when making strategic plans will differ, but many of the underlying processes are the same. Here is the most important point: you can’t think and plan strategically if you’ve never practiced it. To that end, the goal of this article isn’t to teach you how to develop a corporate strategy.
It’s to help you recognize the bigger picture, think farther ahead, and become better prepared to contribute to strategic decisions and planning, regardless of your position or responsibilities.
Strategic thinking and planning span two dimensions: the big picture and how far into the future you’re looking, both of which are relative to your level of responsibility. An entry-level leader might focus on their team and the year ahead. A senior executive might focus on the entire organization, its competitors, and where it needs to be several years from now. Both can think strategically. They’re simply doing it at different levels.
Guiding Principles for Strategic Thinking
If you’ve ever heard anyone say, “we need to be more strategic,” they’re likely trying to make the point that the discussion is too focused on the here and now and should look at the bigger, longer-term picture. To that end, it’s essential to acknowledge that the word strategy can have different meanings depending on the industry, organization, and person using it. For example, it’s not uncommon for people to use the words strategy and plan interchangeably or combine them into the term strategic plan. Strategic thinking asks us to look beyond the immediate problem. Strategy involves making choices about how we’re going to move toward the desired outcome. Planning turns those choices into coordinated action.
At the risk of oversimplification, strategic thinking and planning can be narrowed down to a few guiding ideas.
- See the big picture. Look at the things you can’t control, but don’t let them control you.
- Look farther ahead. Planning horizons vary by person and industry; find the one that works for you and look out as far as appropriate.
- Risk assessment and mitigation. There are risks associated with everything we do and don’t do. Sometimes not doing something is riskier than doing something. In either case, risk mitigation can be the difference between survival and the alternative.
- Available Resources. Understanding resourcing levels and how to leverage them can mean the difference between maintaining the status quo and overachieving.
- If opportunity is knocking, will you hear it? Knowing when to take advantage of an opportunity or when to pass on it can be the difference between overachieving and the alternative.
- Make a plan that moves you toward where you’re trying to go. What will it take to get you from here to there?
- Then pay attention to what happens and adjust. The only constant is change; be prepared for it.
Strategic Thinking and the Planning Process
The first step in any strategic planning process is to set aside time to go through it. There is never enough time, and it’s easy to put off strategic thinking and planning for things that feel more pressing. The next step in the strategic planning process is to practice. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and without it, a strategic planning session can feel more like a miss than a hit. So, let’s explore what might go into a strategic planning process.
Strategic planning isn’t just about identifying risks to goals. It also involves recognizing opportunities, understanding strengths and limitations, and deciding where to focus time and resources. Because resources are finite, every strategic choice entails trade-offs. Choosing not to pursue can be as important as deciding what to do.
Strategic thinking and planning are closely connected, but they aren’t quite the same thing. Strategic thinking helps us see the bigger picture, recognize opportunities and risks, and consider how today’s choices might affect tomorrow. Strategic planning uses that thinking to establish priorities and organize efforts toward longer-term goals.
You don’t need to be responsible for developing an organization’s strategy to contribute to the planning process. Regardless of your position, there are several questions to consider:
- Start with the organization’s mission, vision, goals, and objectives.
- Identify and prioritize the strategic choices most likely to advance or jeopardize organizational goals.
- Examine the external environment for risks and opportunities, and assess how quickly they could affect the organization.
- Consider the organization’s internal strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and available resources.
- Consider the trade-offs, potential consequences, and time horizon for those choices.
- Develop a plan that outlines responsibilities, resources, and measures of success.
- Monitor results and changing conditions, and make adjustments as needed.
- Establish a regular planning and review process appropriate to the organization.
These questions aren’t intended to replace a formal strategic planning process. They provide a starting point for strategic thinking and for contributing to the decisions and plans that shape an organization’s future.
There are several strategic planning tools and resources that may help augment the planning process conversation –
Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI can facilitate strategic thinking and planning by organizing information, exploring alternatives, challenging assumptions, and assessing potential risks and opportunities. It can be especially useful for individuals or organizations new to planning. However, AI-generated recommendations should be evaluated rather than accepted at face value. Sensitive information should be shared with AI systems only when authorized and properly protected. AI can support the planning process, but responsibility for strategic decisions remains with people.
PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental). A framework to help leaders recognize emerging risks and opportunities beyond their direct control.
Porter’s Five Forces. A framework for understanding the competitive pressures within an industry.
Scenario Planning. A method for exploring several plausible future situations and considering how each might affect an organization.
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). A method for evaluating an organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats.
Practice Makes Perfect
Begin looking beyond the problem directly in front of you. That’s really what strategic thinking is about. See the big picture. Look farther ahead. Make choices that move you toward where you’re trying to go. Then pay attention to what happens and adjust.
Keep in mind that every new action can trigger unintended reactions. With that in mind, new strategies must be monitored to ensure they are doing what was intended, and if not, adjustments need to be made. I don’t think I ever saw an initiative go perfectly without some amount of adjustment.
Plans in operation can be monitored through feedback loops using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Developing a strategy is complex and becomes even more challenging when ensuring synchronization across the organization, department, or team.
With practice, thinking and planning strategically can become second nature. You soon start to recognize when individual actions or initiatives aren’t aligned with the larger organizational strategic plan. You begin to recognize connections between decisions that may not have been obvious before. You start asking what happens next, who else might be affected, and whether solving today’s problem might create another problem tomorrow.
RuReady Framework Connection
This article supports LS14 Strategic Thinking and Planning, a Mastery-level Skills element within the Leadership Domain of the RuReady Adult Readiness Framework. Strategic Thinking and Planning means connecting today’s decisions to long-term outcomes while considering the second- and third-order effects that may follow. The goal isn’t to predict the future perfectly, but to build plans with enough flexibility and foresight to adjust when reality doesn’t follow the plan.
Strategic Thinking and Planning connects closely with LK12 Organizational Mission, Vision, and Purpose, which establishes organizational direction, and LK13 Strategic Context and External Environment, which expands the leader’s understanding of the forces that can affect that direction.
If you enjoyed this article, explore the broader RuReady Adult Readiness Framework:
Preface: A Field Manual for Adult Life
Chapter 1: Why Do We Do What We Do?
Chapter 2: An Exploration of the RuReady Framework
Chapter 3: Life Skills for the Personal Domain
Chapter 4: Career Skills for the Professional Domain
Chapter 5: Leadership Skills for Every Level
Before moving on, feel free to use the checklist below to assess your readiness level.
Please feel free to share your own experiences and lessons learned in the comment box below.
Your shared thoughts may help someone else going through a similar experience.
Thank you.
Readiness Review Checklist
Each item below is worth one point. Score yourself honestly; give yourself a point only if you can answer yes with confidence, not just in theory.
1.0 _____: Have you met with your leadership to discuss how you can support the organization’s larger, long-term goals beyond simply doing your job well? The first step in thinking and planning strategically is getting a better appreciation for the bigger, longer-term picture.
1.0 ____: Have you intentionally thought about what you and your team could do, beyond the daily duties, to support the bigger, long-term organizational goals? Taking time to consider how you or your team could contribute to longer-term organizational goals, even on a small scale, is an important step in developing strategic thinking skills.
1.0 ____: Have you helped put a plan or initiative into action that supports a longer-term organizational goal? Practice makes perfect, as they say; thinking through the details of a strategic plan and the individual actions that make up a plan is a critical step in becoming someone who thinks and plans strategically.
1.0 ____: Have you monitored a plan in action, either yours or someone else’s? Monitoring and adjusting is the final and potentially most important step in becoming someone who thinks and plans strategically.
_____: Assessment Grade
4 = A · 3 = B · 2 = C · 1 or 0 = D
The grade isn’t a test of what you’ve memorized; it’s a measure of whether you recognize and apply the idea in your own life.
“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
Stay Ready, My Friends.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is informational only and does not constitute professional advice or recommendation. This reflects my own experience, research, and opinions, and may not apply to your situation. There are a lot of things in life that, with a can-do attitude and a little elbow grease, we can Do It Yourself (DIY); however, there are some things that are better left to the professionals. When in doubt, please consult a professional; that’s part of being ready, too.
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