Improving Your Strategic Thinking
I’ve been told to ‘Think More Strategically‘! We have heard this many times from our learners. It is born from a need by others for you not just to solve the day-to-day challenges, but to also ‘look-up’ and help with future challenges. In essence, they want you to help them. This page is a build on a piece of work by Rick Howarth from the Strategic Thinking Institute.
The Boston Matrix below demonstrates that there are 2 important axes when considering to ‘Think More Strategically’; The insights that you generate & their impact on the business and the frequency that you generate those insights.
Related reading: Check out our ultimate guide on HBDI.
The Impact on Your Business
For example, if you were to discover that recommending using video conferencing at your multi-sited business would save £10,000 per year. This might be a high impact insight for your business and would be a tick against ‘Think More Strategically’.
If that insight turned out to have a low impact on the business because you have only 2 sites and most people don’t need to talk to each other across sites, then this would be a cross against ‘Think More Strategically’.
The Frequency That You Generate Those Insights
One insight per year. If it fundamentally improves the performance of the business would still put a tick against Think More Strategically. Though 1 insight per year that has low impact would put a cross against Think More Strategically. So the answer is a balance between frequency and impact.
Consider the Dimensions of Your Business
- Customer insight – What is the 80:20?
- Sales – What is the 1 insight from all of last year’s sales, that if the sales team did more of it, would increase sales?
- Production – On a Friday between 10am and 1pm, we achieve more widgets per hour. What if that were the goal for all of Friday?
Are You a Strategic Thinker?
Which type of swimmer are you?
