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strategic thinking needs to examine how a proposed result fits into a bigger picture. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s better to climb up than to drill down,\u201d a wise admiral once told us.<\/p>\nWhen the Big Strategic Idea someone pitches you is blatantly boneheaded and un<\/i>-strategic, you might remind yourself that strategic thinkers are made, not born. If this person is your friend or subordinate, then maybe it\u2019s your job to help them learn the skill called \u201cstrategic thinking.\u201d These three simple questions will get you off to a good start.<\/p>\n
First: \u201cWhat\u2019s the point here?\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Like the guy who interrupts a meandering meeting with, \u201cWhat are we trying to accomplish today?\u201d you can awaken your mentee by probing for the point of a proposal. What result, end-point, outcome, <\/i>or effect <\/i>are they angling for?<\/p>\n
Imagine that a manager has come to her boss with a plan to merge two departments.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoss,\u201d she says, \u201cI think we could capture some real synergies <\/i>if we merged Madge\u2019s department with Larry\u2019s. I\u2019ve got a plan for doing that, and I\u2019d like to walk you through it and see what you think.\u201d<\/p>\n
But her plan isn\u2019t the first thing to care about. The first issue to tackle is: how will the world be different if the plan is successful? Or, simply, \u201cWhat\u2019s the point here?\u201d <\/i>For instance, can she identify the \u201csynergies\u201d she\u2019s promising?<\/p>\n
We see friends\u2019 calendars fill with speaking engagements. Occasionally we\u2019ll ask, \u201cWhy are you talking to that particular group?\u201d Often we\u2019re told that it\u2019s \u201cgood exposure,\u201d or it\u2019s an opportunity to \u201cdeliver a message.\u201d If we\u2019re feeling a little bold, we\u2019ll press the point: Sure. But after the exposure, and after delivering the message, what do you hope your audience will say or do differently <\/i>than before they heard your message? In other words, what\u2019s the point here?\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
This question benefits effort at all levels of the organization. In fact, we\u2019ve found that the bigger and more expensive the undertaking, the more likely this niggling little question has been ignored, or not answered thoughtfully.<\/p>\n
Second: \u201cWhat\u2019s the point of the point?\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Now that we\u2019re talking outcomes, not effort, the student of strategic thinking needs to examine how a proposed result fits into a bigger picture. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s better to climb up than to drill down,\u201d a wise admiral once told us.<\/p>\n
So if you\u2019re the boss, it\u2019s not unfair for you to ask, \u201cOkay, so how will this help me accomplish my goals?\u201d It may be the first time they\u2019ve pondered their contribution to your goals. And even better might be to ask, \u201cHow will that help me accomplish my boss\u2019 goals?\u201d That question moves their thinking up two levels, instead of just one.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s say that the proposal to merge two departments could yield an interesting result: 25% reduction in cycle time of a key transaction. Great. But is the overall organization prepared to exploit faster transactions? Maybe the paperwork pileup would just drop down to another bottleneck, helping nobody\u2019s higher goal. Or maybe it\u2019s exactly what\u2019s needed to goose along an important, higher-order achievement.<\/p>\n
In any case, the so-what of the so-what <\/i>is always a useful conversation, and helps people see their work through more strategic eyes.<\/p>\n
Third: \u201cWhat could go wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
This is the part where you help your mentee develop strategic peripheral vision: teach them to anticipate negative side effects. Almost any <\/i>strategic outcome risks negative side effects.<\/p>\n
Sure, lots of side effects aren\u2019t knowable in advance. But most forehead-slapping failures stem from easily predictable side effects that weren\u2019t predicted. And that\u2019s because nobody asked, \u201cWhat could go wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n
In our little merger example, it would be easy to accidentally chase off talented employees. Or, maybe that \u201cmore efficient\u201d system is also a more fragile one, easily broken by the absence of an employee or two. Or . . . lots of other things.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat could go wrong\u201d is the simple question that might have complex answers. But time and again we\u2019ve seen that question raise our clients\u2019 strategic thinking as they broadened their vision.<\/p>\n
There are more than a few rocks to kick over in this conversation. The achievement itself can have side effects, but so too can the effort to produce the achievement. Also, side effects can occur immediately, and they can occur over time. Side effects can be second order, but also third order, and up. And they can occur in many, many domains: safety, politics (internal and external), costs, morale, and on and on.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s plenty to talk about. But the broader goal here is not to kill strategic ideas; it\u2019s to make sure the ideas are fully fleshed out. It\u2019s about ensuring that victories aren\u2019t Pyrrhic.<\/p>\n
\u201cStrategic thinking\u201d–in fact, wisdom–<\/i>occurs only in light of broad context. Understanding the point of our intentions, and then the point of that, and then being alert to repercussions: not a bad beginning down that path.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When the Big Strategic Idea someone pitches you is blatantly boneheaded and un-strategic, you might remind yourself that strategic thinkers are made, not born. If this person is your friend or subordinate, then maybe it\u2019s your job to help them learn the skill called \u201cstrategic thinking.\u201d These three simple questions will get you off to… Teach Strategic Thinking with These 3 Simple Questions<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":1708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[408,81],"tags":[106,849,848],"class_list":["post-1707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management-leadership","category-strategy","tag-leadership","tag-mentorship","tag-strategic-thinking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1707"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1711,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1707\/revisions\/1711"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}