This time the monthly Insight is written to you from Holland, a country I frequent in my world travels.
Yesterday, following a busy day of training I was enjoying a ride on a bicycle - what else in Holland! I was between what looked like barren fields, fields which in the spring-time become multi-coloured “carpets” of different flowers. I have seen them and they are stunningly beautiful. Holland is rightly well known for this extraordinary natural display!
It then occurred to me, as it often does, in unlikely moments - I realized that although the fields seem barren, I was in the middle of an “Unseen Event”, where just underneath the surface of the ground, unseen to the naked eye, a great factory of “energy happening” was taking place, preparing the ground, the seeds, the nutriments and more for next year’s flowering. Although in the back of my mind I know this fact, somehow I was able to appreciate it more this time.
Then the next level came to me. I realized that this is exactly how Strategic Thinking happens, yes, thinking. Thinking happens in the unseen. Ideas, thoughts, facts, evaluations, scenarios, consequences, are all part of preparing your earth, which is your brain. This then allows a flowering at the right moment through the right thought, a creative idea, the most effective next step. This flowering brings about the concrete results, the fruits of your efforts. It produces results that are seen to be beautiful which brings appreciation for your acumen, your intelligence and your ability.
Yes, it takes some work, ordering, focus, creativity and systematic approach but anyone can do it with the right training. It is, after all, natural for the human to do. These unseen preparations are everything in strategic thinking simply because you get there mentally before you get there physically, having created the space to receive new ideas and concepts.
So, here is the strategic thinking tip; always prepare the soil of your next decision, whether you are in a car, waiting for an appointment, on hold in a phone conversation or riding a bike and you will become a great strategist. Your greatest asset at these crowded and competitive times is your mind, which if you use it well, becomes an ever increasing advantage you will have in whatever you do.
Strategic thinking is not some kind of dry formula of rehashing old ideas; it is a live, real and energizing process that gets you to where you are going ahead of time and with much, much more that you started with!
Eli Harari
The Thinking Coach
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