Strategic Thinking is not Strategic Planning – Why? What are the Differences? How to Engage More Strategic Thinking with Boards and Staff?
While related, strategic thinking and strategic planning are distinct concepts that serve different organizational purposes. Understanding these differences and fostering strategic thinking can significantly enhance an organization’s effectiveness and adaptability.
Strategic Thinking:
Strategic Thinking is a continuous and dynamic process. It involves generating insights, envisioning future possibilities, foresight, and identifying opportunities, challenges, and threats. It focuses on the “big picture,” long-term vision, and creative problem-solving.
- Purpose: Strategic Thinking helps you decide what you’d like to achieve in your career or organization and how to accomplish those goals. It can improve processes, inform decisions, and solve complex challenges.
- Skills: Strategic Thinking involves creative skills, “why,” allowing you to find unique solutions to business and cultural challenges and differentiate your brand, products, and services from competitors.
Strategic Planning
Strategic planning is a systematic process. It involves setting specific goals, defining actions to achieve them, and allocating resources. It focuses on the “how,” setting specific objectives and steps to achieve the vision over a set timeline.
- Process: When developing a strategic plan, you outline the overall vision you want to achieve and list the individual steps to get there. These short-term goals increase the chances of meeting your objectives.
- Skills: Strategic planning requires a structured, systematic approach, including analytical thinking, time-based visioning, project management, financial acumen, partnerships and alliances, and actionable plans.
Engaging More Strategic Thinking
- Encourage Open Discussions and Brainstorming Sessions: Create an environment where ideas can flow freely without judgment.
- Foster a Culture that Values Creativity and Exploration: Encourage experimentation and innovative thinking.
- Seek Diverse Perspectives and Challenge Assumptions: Engage with different viewpoints to broaden understanding and uncover hidden opportunities.
- Use Scenario Planning to Envision Different Futures:Consider multiple scenarios by preparing for various potential outcomes.
- Regularly Review and Adjust Strategies Based on Changing Circumstances: Stay flexible and adapt to new information or environmental shifts.
- Ask Strategic Questions: Pose challenging questions that stimulate deeper thinking and exploration.
- Observe and Reflect: Pay attention to patterns, trends, and dynamics within your organization or industry. Reflect on what you observe and consider how it impacts your strategic approach.
- Consider Opposing Ideas: Be open to alternative viewpoints and use them to refine and strengthen your strategies.
- Embrace Formal Training: Seek out workshops, courses, or resources explicitly focusing on strategic thinking.
By distinguishing between strategic thinking and planning and actively fostering a culture that encourages strategic thinking, organizations can enhance their ability to navigate complex environments and achieve long-term success. Don’t be lulled into thinking that a strategic plan equates to strategic thinking. Those who learn to think strategically will outpace all the others.