In recent days I have been exploring the theme of strategic thinking and what it takes to develop your strategic thinking.

In practice, leaders who think strategically combine strong cognitive capability (or at least, strong enough) with a good dose of curiosity.  They also apply their curiosity to the right canvas for their role – looking sufficiently broadly and far ahead to be able to make sound decisions and taking into account a range of factors:  thinking, for example, about which other parts of the organisation will be affected, about the future implications of a decision and about the impact on a decision of future events.  Strong strategic thinkers are always curious – they don’t wait until they have a task to do before seeking out new information.  Instead, they are constantly and systematically seeking out information relevant to their job.

So if you are thinking about how to develop your own ability to think strategically, you might want to ask yourself:  how curious am I?  And what are the things I’m curious about?

In case you’re wondering how you might develop this broader view, I offer just a few suggestions and resources below:

• Understanding your current context:  This is about understanding the context of your current job and implies seeking answers to some key questions:  What’s the external context in which your organisation sits right now?  What is the overall strategy and aspirations of your organisation?  How does your role fit into the wider organisation?  How does it contribute to the wider organisation?  Who are your key customers?  Which parts of the organisation do you need to collaborate with and how?  What other considerations (e.g. organisational culture and politics) have an impact on your role and with what implications?
• Looking at the bigger picture:  The question “what’s the external context in which your organisation sits right now?” is one that merits further exploration.  Some of the strongest strategic ideas come from people who have insights that others miss because they are constantly scanning the broader environment to see what’s changing and thinking about the implications of those changes.  Making regular time to explore wider social and economic developments is one way to do this.  How?  You might start by asking senior leaders in your organisation (and beyond) what publications they read on a regular basis – the Financial Times, Economist and Harvard Business Review are just a few old favourites.  One way to find out what some of the world’s leading thinkers are thinking about is to dip into the library of 20-minute talks available on line at www.TED.com – this is just one way to broaden your thinking.  Engaging with other people can also be a great way to broaden your thinking – for example, by joining your trade federation or other external body;
• Developing a strategic mindset:  Perhaps you enjoy reading books.  If you do, books to stimulate your ability to think strategically include The McKinsey Mind:  Understanding and Implementing the Problem Solving Tools and Management Techniques of the World’s Top Strategic Consulting Firm (by Ethan M. Rasiel and Paul N. Friga), Competitive Strategy and Competitive Advantage (by Michael E. Porter) and The Pyramid Principle:  Logic in Writing and Thinking (by Barbara Minto).  Equally, if you prefer to step into an environment that stimulates your thinking, one colleague recommended the work of Richard Olivier under the Mythodrama brand (see http://www.oliviermythodrama.com);
• Exploring an alternative world:  In the corporate world, it’s easy to imagine a world of people who are also working in corporations.  In practice, many are not.  Recently I heard a statistic that in my own country, Great Britain, 50% of the population are working at any one time, whilst 50% are not.  The percentage of people who actually work in our major corporations is small.  Looking outside the corporate world to stimulate a broader awareness is one way of developing your ability to think strategically.  One colleague, for example, responded to my request for ideas by writing:  “It doesn’t get more strategic than the North American Indian practice of considering all decisions they make based on the impact decisions are likely to have on the following seven generations…. clearly they didn’t have analysts and a stock market”.  If you want to explore this further, check out www.g7sp.com/php.  In my own City of London, St. James’s Church, Picadilly has a long tradition of sponsoring speakers from many different traditions under the name Alternatives, many of which are available on line.  This is just one way to broaden your thinking beyond the confines of your own organisation.

I’d love to hear from you.  If you have followed up on any of this suggestions, which did you find most helpful and why?  And if you’ve found other ways to develop your capacity to think strategically, would you be willing to share them here?