If you want to strengthen your strategic thinking abilities, we have some practical tips for you. This list includes habits, approaches and insights often found in individuals who have turned their firms into leading ones. Curiosity, confidence to experiment and commitment to keep learning are needed, claims the management.about.com website.
1. Strategists are anthropologists
They observe how their customers and prospects behave. They are keen to understand what makes people tick. They work to discover their sources of joy and aspirations. They also look for ways to reduce some of the personal and professional burdens these groups bear.
2. They are scientists
They know that strategy is about testing and tuning hypotheses in their market. They are devoted to efforts to find the right combination that attracts and retains customers.
3. They spend more time talking to front-line employees than senior leaders
They know they need insights that are closest to the customer. That is why they talk to the people who are actually helping the company’s customers.
4. They are constantly trying to connect the dots
They are interested in what is happening beyond their firms and even beyond their industries. They try to connect developments in other areas so they can anticipate changes in the near future. Then they again focus on their own anthropological study of their audiences. That allows them to kick out innovative ideas.
5. Great strategists clearly understand how their own firms make money
This sounds simplistic yet it is not. It’s very easy to lose track of the mechanisms in a firm that turn activities into profits. You need to always understand the profit model of your company. Also, you must be sensitive to anticipating when your approach is in danger of failing because conditions are changing.
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