Which is more important for a business to engage in – strategic planning or strategic thinking?

If you answered “both,” you win the prize.

What’s the difference between the two? Typically, strategic planning involves a formal process whereby company leaders and senior managers gather for a day or two and peer into the future to chart a course of action for the organization. This process usually results in a written plan that guides the company for the next one to three years.

Strategic thinking occurs when the entire organization begins to act in concert with the strategic plan. It involves teaching people at all levels of the organization to anticipate opportunities and threats while managing the day-to-day tasks that fall within their scope of responsibilities.

In most companies, front-line employees are trained to function in the moment rather than prepare for the future. Yet, just like the long-term success of the business, each individual’s success is dependent on his or her ability to implement tactics and perform in the moment, as well as execute plans for all of tomorrow’s accomplishments.

To encourage your entire organization to think more strategically, consider the following principles:

Overcome Fear of Failure. Accept that mistakes will happen. In fact, if they’re not happening, it probably means you’re not keeping up with your market. Instead of seeking to avoid mistakes, learn from them and design plans that allow for the occasional setback.

Take Incremental Steps. Never try to send a spaceship to the moon before you learn how to fly. Start with the strategies and components you can expect to reasonably sustain, and build on your early successes. This will help support the riskier components of your plan.

Make a Commitment. People aren’t stupid. No matter what you say, employees will wait to see what you and other leaders and senior managers actually do before they commit to anything new and different. Stand behind your plan and vision with actions and people will be drawn to achieve the goals.

Pick Up Speed. Don’t make the mistake of waiting for the ideal moment. In today’s world, there are no ideal moments. If you have planned and are focused, engage strategic components of your plan now and you will generate the momentum to carry through.

Be Responsive. Prepare to adapt your methods and processes to deal with roadblocks or changes. Developing the skills of flexibility and adaptability will ensure you can modify the plan when necessary and increase its chances of success. In fact, the more you encourage employees to think strategically, the more flexible and adaptable they will become.

Demonstrate Resolve. Understand the implications of your plan and allocate resources realistically. Strategic targets are never achieved without follow-through and alignment. Just saying you are going to do something does not make it happen. You have to have the organization capabilities (including people, process, system, tools & dollars) to make it happen.

Instill Teamwork. Gain the confidence and trust of your organization especially the managers who most directly influence individual contributors. Instill your vision in them, and help them succeed in their jobs so they can do the same for the organization.

What happens when employees begin to think more strategically?

They become more responsive to changing customer needs. They learn to identify potential threats, obstacles, and problem areas before they reach the critical point. They become better problem solvers as they learn how their decisions and actions impact the business in the future as well as today. And they become more involved with and more supportive of the overall strategic plan.

In the past, most companies could get by with just strategic planning. Today’s topsy-turvy markets demand more. Engage in strategic planning on a regular basis AND enhance the abilities to think strategically throughout the company. Your organization will become more flexible while increasing your ability to handle any new challenges that come your way.

Uncertainty has become a norm today. The world is moving at a pace that is hard for us to manage physiologically and the future is less predictable than we ever imagined it would be. Our history (including our successes) is less and less predictable. Based on these constantly changing conditions, how do we make timely and good decisions today? How do we deal with the fact that there is so much information available to us, changing so rapidly that we can’t possibly get all the data we sometimes want?

First, remain sensitive to the symptoms of poor decision making:

• Ideas and options have been discussed ad nauseum – they have been talked about, put on a ‘parking lot’, set aside, and keep popping up in meetings with no resolution or action taken
• Decisions get made with no discussion or data available – sometimes based on who talks the loudest or has the most seniority in the meeting
• Alternatives are ignored or risks are minimized beyond reason
• Meetings go on and on but there are no notes, no follow up and no actions taken as agreed
• Decisions get made but not communicated
• Decisions get made and changed, again and again for no apparent reason
• Facts or data are ignored because they are uncomfortable or ‘politically incorrect’ to discuss
• Same issues/opportunities/challenges keep coming up over and over
• There is never enough time to fully discuss something

Second, state your intentions and commit to making good decisions:

• Describe what a good decision looks like to you as a leader (this does not have to include lengthy or bureaucratic processes) – just a simple, “we will discuss the data available, examine alternatives, and review risks in a timely fashion…”
• Focus participants in decision making on exposing their thinking process: what data do they have, what does the data mean to them, what assumptions are they making and therefore what action(s) are they recommending
• Establish what criteria you will use for the decision (i.e. one criteria in purchasing is usually price). Don’t discount less quantifiable criteria such as customer service.
• Allow people to be heard no matter their level or expertise – great ideas and different perspectives often come from those who know less than the experts
• Compare your options to your definition of winning or excellence for your organization – does the ‘answer’ get you closer to your defined destination or not

Third and perhaps most importantly:

• Do the things you stated as your intentions above. Practice creates excellence and your words will mean little if your actions don’t align.

Don’t:

• Pretend there is a decision to be made when there isn’t. If there really are no options, there are no decisions.
• Make a decision and then change it after conversation with one person or if you get one piece of additional data without discussing it with all the people initially involved.
• Delay because you don’t have all the info – you probably never will
• Delay by second guessing yourself to death – get clear on whatever is stopping you from making the decision and discuss it. You might be surprised that others were thinking the same thing or even have an answer or data to address your concern.
• Hide decisions. It is better for people to know the truth than have to fill in the blanks guessing – they most often make up much worse stories than the real one.

Not knowing or not getting a decision is often times much worse than bad news or tough decisions. If you have ever worked in an organization that was in a holding pattern or had a boss that could not make decisions, you know firsthand how frustrating it can be. Whatever decisions you make, make them with the best data you can get, measured against criteria you have considered, with a good understanding of the advantages and disadvantages for whichever course your choose. Discuss and share them openly so everyone stays aligned and focused on winning.

Tips for being aware, asking the right questions, and making timely decisions

One of the few commonalities of almost every article, study or book about leadership is an agreement that self awareness is critical to be a great leader. Today, more than ever, it is important to understand what is driving you – what is influencing your behaviors, your decisions, the data you gather and the choices you make? What mental models, assumptions and beliefs do you have about the world, the economy, your company, your competitors, your employees, etc?

Following are a few questions to ask yourself to indicate how you are performing as a leader in tough and uncertain times:

• Are you delaying important decisions?
  • There is nothing worse for employees than uncertainty right now. Make tough decisions even if you don’t have all the data you would like to have. You can almost always change them later, but not making them causes tremendous anxiety and a real lack of focus in your organization, draining energy and productivity.
• Are you spending too much time in your office, avoiding communicating?
  • Even if you don’t have all the answers and there are things you cannot communicate, talk about what you can. Tell employees as much as you can – the good and the not so good. They are making up much worse in the breakroom, so fill in the blanks with more accurate information.
• Are you ignoring the input and insight of the market, competitors, customers, employees, others?
  • Those closest to the customer often know the most about what you should and could change quickly to retain customers, market share, etc. Ask them! And if ideas are offered, even those that seem like a stretch, consider them seriously.
• Have you considered multiple ways of winning?
  • If you are still trying to do the same things you were six or seven months ago, wake up and smell the burnt coffee. Things have changed and you must adapt your strategies and actions to adapt to the new realities.

Following are a few tips for continuing to be a great leader in tough and uncertain times:

• Spend time evaluating what is and what isn’t possible.
  • Take stock of what you do know about your industry and the economic climate. Be cautious to check your understanding – just because you knew it a year ago, does not mean it is still accurate. Invest in getting better business intelligence right now. It will serve you well.
  • Do scenario planning to expand your brain’s ability to see multiple alternatives and course of action. Ask yourself and others “What if…?” You’ll be amazed at what people can come up with if you give them a target and then ask questions to help them see it and believe it is possible.
  • Examining and considering multiple possibilities will help you be prepared to take action if an opportunity presents itself.
• Prioritize so that you and others remain focused on the right things.
  • Once you have reset your strategies and tactics, make sure everyone in your organization knows what they are. Most people are working incredibly hard today. The problem is, some are working on the wrong things – projects and initiatives that are now unimportant or less important to success. But no one told them! Constantly communicate priorities and the ‘why’ behind them.
• Deepen customer relationships.
  • Make sure you have a senior executive assigned to connect with significant customers on a regular basis. Customers are making tough decisions on where to spend limited dollars, so make sure your name is front and center because you have built a good relationship.
• Work on building as much resilience in your organization as possible.
  • Things are changing at a pace that is almost impossible for us to absorb and assimilate. Resilient organizations are focused, proactive, positive, flexible and organized. Don’t assume your employees can constantly adapt to all that is going on. Make it one of your areas of focus and invest the energy to build the capability to deal with the accelerating pace of change.
• Examine everything!
  • Just because something served the organization well a year ago, does not mean it is the best approach today. Pause and consider all the things that are ‘set in stone’ and consider changing them to adapt to the current environment.

Someone will win. Will it be you and your organization?