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Whether responsible for one or many, whether attempting to influence an individual or a nation, we consider strategic thinking and leadership to be of paramount importance.

Issues and Considerations

Strategic thinking and leadership are effective only if they occur within the proper context. Their relevance is only clear if you have first thought about several fundamental questions: What do you care about? What are your challenges? What do you aspire to become? How do you wish to contribute to your colleagues, team, organization, or community?

Answers to such fundamental questions open the door to a slate of additional questions. How do you interpret the present, past, and future? How do you identify and analyze the full range of available options? How do you influence others to support your chosen course of action? What actions will you take to achieve the impact you desire?

This book goes beyond the mechanics of strategic thinking and leadership. We will explore the motives and preferences that lead to an individual thinking and acting strategically. Regardless of your goal, information provided in this book will help you recognize and leverage the positive aspects of your personal style and also avoid your personal blind spots.

In some ways, strategic thinking is like constructing a mental map that connects the current “here and now” to something, somewhere, or sometime in the future. Just like a road map that will take you from the countryside into the center of a large city, strategic thinking gives you a general feel for your route, gives you waypoints that help designate your path, and provides guidance if things turn sideways while you are en route.

The Importance of Holistic Perspective

Strategic thinking occurs during every phase of your overall effort. Such a holistic perspective helps you raise awareness of key considerations, build confidence regarding the appropriate path forward, and increase precision in executing planned actions.

A leader benefits from a holistic perspective just as a pilot benefits from considering all aspects of flying an aircraft. A close colleague who is a pilot recently told us about the roles, responsibilities, and considerations of piloting a twin-engine airplane. He pointed out that operating a high-performance airplane capable of cruising at 520 miles per hour at altitudes of more than 49,000 feet carries a lot of responsibility. At that speed, the plane is covering almost 8.7 miles each minute or the equivalent of two football fields each second. To function in a responsible manner, pilots adhere to certain principles that help them maintain a holistic perspective. It is critical that the pilot be aware of what is happening within their own mind and body, within the cockpit and aircraft, and within the surrounding 50 to 75 miles of airspace. Our colleague suggests these are some of the guiding principles pilots consider when handling an airplane:

■ Your focus and attention must “stay ahead of the airplane.”

■ You must be forward looking and forward thinking.

■ You should direct your eyes outside of the cockpit approximately 90 percent of the time, directing your eyes inside the cockpit 10 percent of the time.

■ You should use multiple cockpit instruments to verify or discount the data you receive from any one instrument, in order to alert you to a malfunctioning instrument.

■ You must properly “manage the cockpit.” Awareness is only half of the equation, and cockpit resource management ensures that the pilot receives full benefit from all of the available resources, including data from cockpit instruments, recommendations from fellow crew members, observations from outside the cockpit, and guidance coming from air traffic controllers.

■ You must ensure full understanding of who is in control – there can only be one pilot in command of the aircraft at any given time.

Clearly, piloting an aircraft requires a holistic perspective. We find that the same is true for effective strategic thinking. In the course of our work advising individuals and organizations, we have found that the most effective leaders take similar steps to achieve appropriate awareness, anticipate required actions, share responsibility, mitigate risk, and ensure intended outcomes.

The Importance of Context

Just as a holistic perspective improves strategic thinking by ensuring that all factors are considered, it is also important to consider context. One of us (Simerson) grew up in a rural area of North Carolina known for its cattle. There I learned that there are two primary techniques for managing livestock. In this context, the prevailing wisdom is that close-quarter range management is better than open-range management. The close proximity of the herd allows one to monitor and manage each head of livestock more closely. That said, the same technique is not better from a broader perspective – population density creates issues of disease control and environmental impact management.

For the more urban reader, consider this question: Does having a swimming pool increase the property value of your home? It turns out that it depends. Conversations with a local real estate professional suggest that if you have a swimming pool, it does not add to the value of your home. Most agents believe it actually lowers the value because many prospective buyers do not want the added cost of maintenance, are concerned about decreased yard space, or worry about their children. That said, if your neighbors have a swimming pool and you also have a swimming pool, your property value will be comparable to your neighbors'. And, in fact, if you are one of the few in your neighborhood who does not have a swimming pool, your property value will go down. The old mantra “location, location, location” holds true here. The influence or impact of having a swimming pool differs according to where the property is located.

The Importance of Applying Perspective and Context

We consider questions to be a critical element of strategic thinking. Both the number of questions asked and the nature and scope of those questions are both important. On this front, a conversation that one of us overheard while serving as a law enforcement executive comes to mind. A patrol commander and a crime analyst were discussing the ability to predict the likely time and location of armed robberies based on available data. This was an important issue, in that our local community had experienced a spate of armed robberies at several local convenience stores committed by what was presumed to be the same individual.

As they discussed the matter, it became increasingly clear that the commander's comments were focused mainly on the precision and accuracy of the forecast, while the crime analyst's comments centered on matters related to maintaining a holistic perspective and context. As the commander kept asking for more detail, the analyst kept focusing on what patrol officers would do with the information. Experience suggests neither set of questions was right or better than the other. Although it is unrealistic to expect predictions to be 100 percent accurate, a certain level of precision is needed in order to ensure the utilization of resources. A forecast that is 99 percent accurate is much better than one that is only 60 percent accurate. That said, achieving 99 percent accuracy is only useful if it influences or impacts actions in some planned and purposeful way.

These situations showcase the underlying tenet of this book: Strategic thinking only matters if it leads to purposeful action. Furthermore, leadership only matters if it is informed by a clear understanding of context and perspective. It is strategic leadership – the result of leadership actions informed by strategic thinking – that drives meaningful results.

Fundamental Questions

With these issues in mind, we highlight a few of the questions that colleagues, clients, and students have raised with us when discussing strategic thinking and leadership. We believe you will be able to relate to many, if not all, of them.

■ From the senior vice president of a private label canned vegetable company:

■ How do I gain and maintain an in-depth understanding of my business?

■ How do I articulate the vision of where we should go?

■ After I've gotten buy-in, how do I lead the effort – not micromanage – while still giving direction and having sufficient controls to make sure things are on track?

■ From a physician's assistant in a leading teaching hospital:

■ How do I get people to “follow the leader”?

■ How can I define success?

■ What the heck is “strategic” thinking?

■ From the executive vice president and practice leader of a private equity firm:

■ How can I make numerous quick, strategic decisions?

■ In terms of strategic thinking, how can I more quickly pick things up, assess matters, draw conclusions, and make decisions – and then more quickly attack?

■ How do strategic thinking and strategic leadership change when applied to different situations?

■ From a director of a leading children's hospital:

■ How can I help leaders redirect reactive habits toward more strategic thinking?

■ What are the measures of “sound” strategic thinking? What are the best practices?

■ How do I teach strategic thinking to my team to prepare them for the future?

■ From a corporate board member:

■ How do you combine the art and the science of strategy formulation to create something exceptionally powerful?

■ How do you strengthen an individual's strategic thinking capability?

■ Is there a particular strategic thinking style that is more conducive to a particular industry or profession, or more applicable to a profit or nonprofit organization?

These and other questions inform our focus in writing this book, as do hundreds of other conversations we've had with leaders in both professional and casual situations. We don't address all of them directly, but we're confident that you will gain insight into each of them and into your own questions as you work your way through this text.

Strategic thinking – with its emphasis on assessing situations, recognizing patterns, and making decisions – is a compelling imperative in today's complex, changing, and risk-laden world. While the focus and process of strategic thinking may vary, it is always key to maintaining perspective and focus when the external environment changes. Leadership – with its emphasis on influencing others toward a chosen course of action – is equally compelling. While the manner in which leadership is exercised may change, it is nonetheless key to having an impact on your team, organization, community, industry, or profession.

These are the considerations and questions we intend to address as we explore the key aspects of leading with strategic thinking. The next chapter presents fundamental concepts that define both strategic thinking and leadership, and provides real-world examples of strategic leadership in practice.