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December 3, 2009 | Volume 3, Issue 12 | www.sdchamber.org | contact us Becoming a Strategic Thinker: Raise Your Strategic IQ for 21st Century Success (As seen in Training Magazine)By Stephen Haines “Thinking Backwards” from their desired outcomes in order to move forward to grow your career/business is what outstanding Strategic Thinkers do, time after time, day after day. Seventy-five percent of all change efforts fail to achieve intended results. In today’s dynamic and confusing global environment, the need for leaders and trainers of all types to become and remain strategic thinkers on a daily basis is a necessity for successful change and business growth. It is not enough to build a Strategic Plan or have long-term vision or, conversely, to just give up and muddle through the complexities around us and hope for success. A disciplined way to think, to plan, to act, and to rethink and re-plan all over again on a daily basis is needed to grow your business. It is needed to grow your career as a trainer as well. planning and change are the primary jobs of leaders today, and strategic thinking is the way to do this. The lament on many executive’s lips these days is to the effect that, “we need more strategic thinking and strategic thinkers.” However, just what does this popular phrase mean? Strategic thinking is a broad and innovative way of thinking on a daily basis about the overall goals of your job, team, and organization. It is longer-term oriented with a more systemic and holistic view of your dept/unit in its environment. It is also disciplined or integrated thinking with a focus first on the desired outcomes of your unit or entire training department as a system. Then it focuses on the relationships between your training components, along with constant feedback about results, to find the leverage points that best achieve your desired outcomes. The departments and parts of any organization don’t usually work together well – too many silos and political conflicts. Strategic thinking is also called systems thinking, critical thinking, future and forward thinking, longer-term thinking, and high-level thinking. It is not analytic thinking, which is tactical, mechanistic, reductionist, either/or thinking. It is not parts oriented, or one best way. Learn more about strategic thinking, the systems thinking approach, and how to use these principles to improve your business. Download the entire article by Stephen Haines, CEO & Founder of the Haines Center for Strategic Management.
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