Thinking and acting strategically isn’t just about deciding where you want to go. By definition, strategy is an ongoing process of working to achieving your goal, reaching your destination, and navigating a series of waypoints along the way.
Consider it as a journey into the future, and like any journey, there are bits of it that are under your control, and lots that aren't but which you have to navigate and respond to. Sometimes the terrain is smooth and well known, sometimes it’s wild and unfamiliar. Either way, you’re making decisions and choices as you move.
And those decisions? They’re only as good as the information you base them on.
Part of the strategic mindset is about deliberately gathering the right information to help you choose wisely. That means checking more than just your gut or your dashboard. There are 3 key areas of information you need; having all of these will automatically mean that your decisions are likely to serve you better:
This is more than a snapshot of today’s performance metrics. It’s about truly understanding your current status; what’s happening, how did you get here, and what pressures or opportunities are emerging. It’s the difference between 'sales are down' and 'we’re caught in a shift in buyer behaviour that started six months ago'.
Some historical context helps. Just like while travelling, if you can review the route you have taken, and the decision you have made along the way, you can see how you arrived here, and maybe stop you from getting more lost. Don't dwell on the past - you are where you are - but you can learn from the past.
This is often the bit we think of first and foremost when we talk of strategy; the vision of the future that we want to create - and the goals to be achieved along the way.
From a strategic perspective, the future can be considered as roughly 4 time zones:
Operational and tactical now (next 12 months)Emergent (1 to 3 years)Transformation (3 to 10+years)Over the Horizon (10+ years)
Each has varying levels of certainty (or uncertainty), and each requires different types of thinking, understanding and planning. But all are affected by the decisions you make starting today, and all those decisions are impacted by the clarity of vision you have for those various time zones.
While that may seem obvious, clarity about your goals is surprisingly rare when things are changing fast; quite understandably, we lose sight of the longer-term goals and focus on the nearer-term. But longer-term strategic aims often stay the same, while the short-term objectives may need to adjust in response to shifting conditions.
If we go back to our road trip, if a bridge is out, we’ll need to rethink the next few turns. The ultimate destination hasn’t changed but we need to reroute along the way
And thinking back to 'status', if the decisions you made that got you here, didn't get you where you were hoping (or preferably 'intending'), then maybe your understanding of 'the system' is flawed or outdated - of course it could just be an 'execution' issue. And if I am intending to achieve my strategic goals and ultimate vision using an increasingly flawed model of the world, then I will have my work cut out for me.
Again, that may sound obvious, but it is human nature to try to work with our existing mental models. However, we do learn as we go along - that is why we are such a successful species - but the question is, are we learning (unlearning and relearning), quick enough? The company that learns faster than the competition is the one that will come out ahead!
Understanding the system - the wider environment in which you operate - is key to anticipating how change might affect you. But the catch is that systems evolve. Social norms shift, supply chains flex, customer expectations change, and new technologies disrupt what used to be stable.
If your mental model of 'how things work' is based on how things used to work, your decisions will slowly become less effective.
There are a variety of things you can do to help 'stay current':
Be curious and inquisitive about the world around you from the immediate / micro level, all the way to the systemic / macro level. Get multiple perspective. Don't judge, just allow your mind to 'join the dots'.Use tools like PESTLE analysis to carry out a structured scan of the forces that are working for and against you: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors.Keep an eye on your Customer journey to spot new or evolving behaviours or friction points.Have a network of listeners - stay connected with people in your team, network, or industry circles who can signal trends or early shifts.Scenario planning - have team discussions where you join past, present, and future – thinking through multiple plausible futures - this can help you know what to keep an eye out for as the future unfolds and you may need to respond.Keep an eye on yourself too - are you thinking strategically, becoming constrained in your thinking, or using yesterday's logic?
Just like checking the weather before continuing a journey, tuning into the system as it is, not as it was, helps you decide whether to press on, pause, or change direction.
When the world speeds up or gets messy, it’s tempting to double down on the familiar. But the best strategic thinkers don’t just hold their course, or push harder, but they:
make sure they know exactly where they are and how they're doingclarify that they are still heading to the right futureupdate their knowledge and understanding of the system so they can plot the best possible route to that future.
Ad Futurum
Graham
/kcl-goes-green/HeaderLogo-60x300-ID-e065fb7a-094d-4fc6-d8c1-f4f88e7523f5.png)