Strategic Thinking- Thinking about the Future
Every day is different to the day before- we all know that yet we tend to think about it, ourselves and others, in the same way we thought yesterday.
This is unfortunate as this “I have seen it all before” kind of thinking is arresting to the mind and faculties of the person.
This is where strategic thinking can come in to provide opportunity and many fresh starts.
What follows are simple definitions that can make the subject clear:
• Strategic thinking is the ability to think about the future in the way that increases opportunity
• Strategic thinking is being conscious about what has not yet happened and providing space for it to appear
• Strategic thinking is a way of thinking that searches out for what the case is without bias
• Strategic thinking is the ability to think fresh about things we think we know
• Strategic thinking is the ability to forward think
• Strategic thinking is to pre-think situations and not be prematurely conclusive
• Strategic thinking is an open state of mind that welcomes new perceptions
• To have strategic thinking is to be in control rather then to be controlled by circumstances.
• Strategic thinking is being able to project forward how you wish to be in any given circumstance
• Strategic thinking is a mind-set that addresses the following questions:
1. What do I want to achieve
2. Why do I want to achieve it
3. How will I deal with obstacles that may appear
4. What will that cause
5. What will I do about it
These 10 definitions of strategic thinking provide a simple direction, whereby, it is clear that each and every person can apply it. Strategic thinking is first and foremost a matter of self discipline.
Clearly, as these definitions indicate, strategic thinking can be applied to every-day life issues as well as to the improvement of a professional career.
How does strategic thinking relate to strategic planning? Strategic thinking is the basis for strategic planning because if you can think about the future you can also plan for it.
By analogy, strategic thinking is the car while strategic planning is the driving or to put it another way, strategic thinking is deciding that you want to make a cake for a particular reason, perhaps to show appreciation to someone and having had that mind set to proceed to strategically plan the cake and combine the ingredients that will make it just right.
People often make the mistake of putting a plan of action without first thinking what they want to achieve & why they want to achieve it.
At a deeper level strategic thinking is turning your mind to a theatre of Being in something before you are actually physically there, while strategic planning is the Doing part.
Strategic thinking, therefore, is a decided upon way of life where you decide to become progressively more conscious about each and every precious moment of your life.
Curiously, when you do decide to apply strategic thinking in your life, the moments become more and more precious and you get the sense that you are the captain of the ship called “your life”.
Eli Harari
The Thinking Coach
12.13.2008
