Strategic Thinking

One of the topics I always cover when I'm doing any kind of leadership development is Strategic Thinking. It's a vital tool for anyone in any kind of leadership role - and that includes you if you run your own business. It makes no difference how big your business is or what type of business you're in: if you are responsible for setting any kind of direction and achieving goals or targets, you need to think and behave like a leader, which means developing your ability to think strategically.

Of all the core leadership competencies, Strategic Thinking seems to be the one that makes more people feel uncomfortable.Time and again I've heard people say things like "I don't know what strategic means" or "I can't do that, it's too complicated". I understand where they're coming from, because I used to think like that too.

And then a mentor very kindly enlightened me to the fact that, just like absolutely everyone else, I was actually thinking strategically every single day of my life without realising. The same is true for you.

Every time you get in your car and drive successfully from A to B you are thinking strategically.

Every time you save up to buy something expensive or pay for a holiday you are thinking strategically.

And every time you make any type of decision that will impact on something hapening in the future you are thinking strategically.

We all think stratgecially every single day but because it doesn't get labelled that way we don't give it a second thought. It's only when we give that type of thinking a label and stress its importance, that people start to get shy of it and our ability to do it somehow disappears.

Strategic Thinking is all about taking the long view. If you don't do that you end up focusing purely on what's right in front of you - it' the equivalent of focusing on the bonnet of the car rather than the horizon when you're driving: you'll never get to your intended destination if you don't look in that direction.

On June 5th I'll be running a WMB workshop called Strategic Thinking for Beginners. I'll be giving you some tools and techniques to help you strengthen your Strategy Gland and apply the Strategic Thinking skills you already have to your professional life.

It will be an interactive session so please bring along whatever you have in the way of a business plan, objectives etc - even if they're scribbled on the back of an envelope somewhere - it doesn't matter because whatever you've got we'll put top good use. And of you haven't got anything like that at the moment rest assured you will have by the end of the workshop!

Click here to book your place and put any worries you might have about how to Think Strategically to rest, once and for all.