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02 July 2015

Maxwell: Utilize Strategic Thinking

This article is a continuation from THIS POST. It is advisable to read it before you read this article.

Once we have identified the mission or purpose of our lives, we should prepare a personal vision statement. Strategic thinking will allow us to:
  1. Identify the short, medium and long term objectives that will help me achieve my vision
  2. Help us develop detailed strategies and plan of action
Why  should we utilize the power of strategic thinking?
  1. Strategic thinking simplifies the difficult.
    • It takes complex issues and long term objectives and breaks them into manageable sizes.
  2. Strategic thinking prompts you to ask the right questions. Some of the questions that it forces us to ask are:
    • Direction: What should I do next? Why?
    • Organization: Who is responsible for what? Who is responsible for whom? Do I have the right support?
    • Cash: What is the projected income, expense, net? Can I afford it? How?
    • Tracking: Am I on target/
    • Overall evaluation: Am I achieving the quality that I expect and demand of myself?
    • Refinement: How can I be more effective and efficient?
    • Any other questions that I may have of myself
  3. Strategic thinking prompts customization
    • Make plans to fit circumstances
    • It forces you to go beyond vague ideas and engage in specific ways to tackle a task / problem.
  4. Strategic thinking prepares us today for an uncertain tomorrow.
  5. Strategic thinking reduces the margin of error
    • It lines up action with the objective
  6. It gives you an influence over others.
How to release the power of strategic thinking
  1. Breakdown the issue to smaller, meaningful parts
  2. Ask why before how
  3. Identify the real issues and objectives.
    • A problem must be clearly defined before it can be resolved
    • Challenge any assumptions
    • Collect as much information as required
    • Remove any personal agenda
  4. Review our resources
  5. Develop plan
    • Start with the obvious. They build momentum and initiate creativity and intensity
  6. Put right people in right place
    • Wrong person: Problem instead of potential
    • Wrong place: Frustration instead of fulfillment
    • Wrong plan: Grief instead of growth
  7. Keep repeating the process
    • The will to win is worthless if I do not have the will to prepare
    • A good strategic thinker is a continuous strategic thinker
Thinking questions:
  1. What is my long term objective?
  2. What is my strategy to achieve the same?
  3. Am I following the correct strategic plan today to achieve my long term potential?

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