Strategy provides the means to continuously better your business, progress toward a goal, grow a company, improve methods and techniques, and stay ahead of the competition. Thankfully, you don’t have to be born a strategic genius to apply strategic thinking to your business. Develop your strategic thinking skills with the following:
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Vision
Strategic thinking should move you forward, and to do that, you need a destination in mind. Have a vision of where you want your business to go in order to…
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Plan for the Future
A good strategist not only works towards an ideal, but sees opportunities and changes on the horizon. Consult with others in your network to determine what to plan for in the future.
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Creative and Critical
Strategic thinking skills enable you to balance creativity with a critical outlook. You want to aim high, but maintain a realistic sense of what can be accomplished with your available resources and time. You don’t score bonus points for being overzealous.
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Put A Plan in Action
Once you have a plan, see it through. This is where strategy is key. Strategic thinking requires planning out the steps needed to move an idea from concept to reality.
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Adapt
You will inevitably encounter stumbling blocks, so make sure your plan can shift to account for unexpected changes while staying on track toward your goal. If the goal becomes unreachable, don’t continue wasting precious time and resources on it. Redirect and…
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Learn from Failure
The path to success is littered with failures. It may seem paradoxical, but a setback can become a step forward if you acknowledge and learn from mistakes. Do this by learning new skills, gaining new insight, and using that newfound knowledge to aim for a new goal or determine a different means of success.
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Recharge and Refresh
Burnout blocks the creative channels needed to envision a goal and lay out a plan. Recharge and refresh by taking a break. Take some time away from the desk and come back with a fresh perspective.
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Seek Advice
Whether feeling stumped or on a roll, wise strategists consult mentors, coaches, or peers. You may have the best idea in the world or be totally off your rocker. Either way, you need to know. Having the council of another person also helps keep you on track by holding you accountable.
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Open-Minded
One of the biggest strategic thinking skills is the ability to innovate. This means looking in unexpected places and testing the untried. Be open to the possibilities, consider the ideas of others, and don’t be afraid to question conventional wisdom.
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Patience
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Slow and steady wins the race. You’ve heard all of this before, yet many business leaders lose sight of the big picture, lose patience, and ultimately lose out on incredible long-term opportunities in exchange for short-term gains. Give ideas the time they need to develop into something great. Also give yourself and your team time to make those ideas reality. In the years to come, it is the larger gains that will be remembered and keep your business alive and well.
Building your strategic thinking skills will give your business the vision and means to continue on the path to greatness. Multivariable Solutions can empower your business through successful, innovative strategies tailored to your unique needs. Give us a call to get started!
