Strategic thinking is the ability to be aware of the intermediate tasks on the way to the goal. These tasks may include: achieving intermediate goals, understanding the necessary resources, helping other people, and so on.
If you simplify, it's like a computer game, where to achieve the goal (passing game), you must first go through many levels. Only in life a person formulates the levels that he must pass. In life, a person is not just a player, but also the author of the game.
For example, a strategic goal might be to build a house. The first goal will be to make money. The second is to buy land. The third is to make a project. The fourth is to find good builders. The fifth is to start building a house. The sixth is to control the construction. Seventh and final — to move in house.
Each of these items itself consists of many sub-items. The ability to understand, plan and implement all this is provided by strategic thinking.
What skills does strategic thinking consist of?
Strategic thinking is not a given that some people are born with and others are not. It's a specific, complex skill that people develop over the course of their lives. This skill consists of more small, which we now and consider.
Ability to set a specific goal
The skill seems obvious, but it's not quite true. Many people do not know what they specifically want to achieve, preferring to think in some abstract categories. Their minds are simply not accustomed to it. Meanwhile, this skill is the main component of success in any business.
Many people are not inclined to think about what they want and for this reason are always dissatisfied. Even if they come across just Golden opportunities, they just do not see them, because their attention is not configured properly.
Back to the example of the house. The abstract goal is simply a desire “ " I Want to build a house." It's not a very specific goal. The specific goal is " I Want a house here on this project, located here in this place for such and such a cost.”
Such a goal already allows something assess and plan. As long as the person does not specify what he wants, he will be in the zone of fantasies. Which will remain fantasies.
At this stage, the person answers the questions “ " Why do I need this?", "For whom is this done?"Is it worth it?"What exactly do I want to achieve?”. The answers to these questions will cut off all unnecessary in the next stages. Will allow to do only the most necessary and save resources.
Collecting information about the target
It is impossible to develop any strategy without collecting information. A General cannot plan a war against an opponent of whom he knows nothing. So in any case.
This is necessary in order to as accurately as possible to imagine the intermediate stages, to assess the necessary resources, to assess the probability of success, and more.
The ability to collect information is a complex skill, which includes the ability to communicate with people, work with sources, analyze information, or the ability to entrust this part of the work to another person or organization.
At this stage, strategically minded people dismiss those goals that cannot be achieved with the available resources.
Planning
On the basis of this information, intermediate goals are developed, which are then analyzed in the same way.
At this stage, a person can already clearly see the weaknesses of his plan. This is the last chance to abandon the venture with minimal losses.
At this stage, the person plans the schedule on which he will act, formulates the terms, develops possible actions in case of difficulties.
This is the most voluminous component of strategic thinking. It requires the ability of a person to mentally model the development of events.
Action.
What distinguishes the strategic thinker from the rest is the rapid transition from planning to action. He constantly tests his thoughts in practice. Some are testing their plan on some small model.
Even the best plan does not make a person a strategist, if he did not realize this plan. Once a person has understood what he wants, he makes a decision.
This is a separate and complex skill. Many people are not able to make independent decisions at all. To do this, a person must have the skill of coping with stress, so that he can act in conditions of uncertainty
Plan adjustment
The more experienced a person is, the more accurately he imagines the resources that will need to be spent, the intermediate goals that will need to be achieved and so on. However, it is impossible to foresee everything.
For this reason, it is necessary to constantly make adjustments to the plan. It's complicated. In order not to go completely in the other direction, it is necessary to constantly keep in mind the ultimate goal for which everything is done. This allows you to separate the main from the secondary.
Here from the person the skill of self-criticism, ability to question earlier made decisions is required, but at the same time ability to keep attention not the purposes.
Other components of strategic thinking
What I have described above is necessary, but insufficient in achieving the goal. Some additional qualities of personality are required, which I will now describe.
Ability to delegate authority
Most things can't be done alone. We always lack resources: skills, knowledge, time, money. The person who wants to succeed in some significant project, understands that it is not necessary to do everything yourself. Some stages can be assigned to other people, some resources can be occupied.
The skill to see your weaknesses, the ability to understand that it is easier to entrust something to another-is necessary for a strategically thinking person.
After all, strategic thinking is not only the ability to achieve goals, but also the ability to do it in the most optimal way. To do this, a person must objectively assess the limits of their capabilities.
Of course in some small matter can do on their own. But from such projects and profits less.
For example, even such a small matter as the organization of this blog, required to contact several specialists.
Openness to new things.
For the most part, people prefer to act the old-fashioned way. This "disease" is common to all people. However, successful people have in their Arsenal the skill to sometimes overcome their inertia and try new things.
You can achieve the result in completely different ways. It is foolish and disastrous for the cause not to consider new options.
Strategic thinking involves finding ever more effective ways to act. But without the skill to sometimes overcome their inertia, it is impossible to find new ways to solve problems.
Breadth of thinking.
Breadth of thinking is the ability to cover the maximum number of areas of reality when solving a problem. To do this, you need to have a broad Outlook and experience.
This quality of personality allows us to see new opportunities, connections between phenomena. Breadth of thinking is a great bonus that allows you to raise the strategic thinking of a person to a new level.
This quality must be expressed at least in a weak degree, otherwise a person will inevitably make a lot of mistakes and misjudge the situation.
Without the ability to think strategically, it is impossible to achieve something significant. Strategic thinking is not given from birth, but fortunately everyone can learn it, if it is disciplined to develop the necessary skills.