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Strategic Thinking for Today’s Leaders
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Agenda
• What is Strategic Thinking?
• Circle of Habit
• How to Think Strategically
• Final Thoughts
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What is Strategic Thinking?
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Buttered Popcorn
• Art Silverman was charged to educate public about high fat levels in buttered popcorn
• Asked the “Why” instead of “What” and “How”
• Showed visual of fatty meals equaling a medium bag of popcorn
• As a result of strategic thinking, movie houses changed the oil they used for popcorn
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What is Strategic Thinking?
What does “strategic thinking” mean to you?
Do you think strategically? If so, when?
Who within your company should be responsible for thinking strategically?
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Strategic Thinking - Defined
Strategic Thinking is the ability to proactively add value by...
1. Asking the right questions.
2. Challenging conventional thinking patterns.
3. Balancing short and long-term concerns.
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Connect the Dots
Connect the 9 dots
Use 4 straight lines
Can’t lift your pen(cil) off the paper
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Self-Imposed Restrictions
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Get Outside the Box!
1
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Get Outside the Box!
2
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Get Outside the Box!
3
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Get Outside the Box!
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4
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SOLVING
Resolving Tomorrow’s
Problems
Proactive
“How can I effectively
meet the challenge?”
VSFIXING Resolving Today’s
Problems
Reactive
“How can I quickly
resolve the issue?”
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Strategic Thinker Vs. Tactical Thinker
ScenarioTactical questions
look like...
Strategic questions
look like...
When taking over a new
project...
What are we delivering by
when? Who is doing what?
Who is the customer? How do
they define success?
When planning their day... What is due today? Who is
waiting on me for what?
What is going to add the most
value? What can I delegate?
Why am I doing this?
When dealing with an
angry customer...
How can I resolve the issue?
How can I satisfy the customer?
How can I turn this into an
opportunity? How can I make
this customer my advocate?
When implementing
change...
What is going to change? How
do I communicate the change?
How do I train the change?
What is the desired outcome of
the change? How do I know if
the change is successful? Why
might people resist the change?
Why should people embrace the
change? How do people best
absorb new information?
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Can you learn Strategic Thinking?
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The Circle of Habit
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Job Description Analogy
What makes up the white space?
• The risk no one but you will take
• The innovation no one but you would conceive
• The need no one but you could identify
• The person no one but you would mentor
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EVER FEEL
LIKE THIS?
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The Circle of Habit – Defined
A Circle of Habit can come in many different forms:
• Negative Thinking
• “Not my problem” mentality
• Disillusionment, apathy, boredom
• A daily routine
• A chaotic work environment full of distractions
• Company culture – “The way it’s always been done” or
• Company slogan – “It is what it is”
…things (both internal and external) that keep you from being able to think strategically on a
regular basis
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1. Asks the right questions.
2. Challenges conventional thinking patterns.
3. Balances short and long-term concerns.
Strategic Thinker
Circle of Habit
1. Asks no questions.
2. Clock-in, clock-out mentality.
3. Consistently living in the “now.”
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Case Study
Most every assumption was/is wrong…
TAFT: This Ain’t Freakin’ Texas!
1. State governments not prepared
2. Environmental issues
3. Local vs. Outside vendors/contractors
4. Local townships
5. Start-up vs. maintenance
YOUARENOTHERE
Scale, staffing, and culture
We’ve always done it this way…
Scale shines a bright light on any cracks…
“Wildcatters” vs. nuclear practice “maturity”
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What Keeps Us in the Circle of Habit?
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How to Think Strategically
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What makes a “good” question?
• Reveal assumptions
• Clarify the outcome
• Engage others
• Clear up ambiguity
• Dig deep
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SUCCESS to me looks like ________.
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Example of Intent Statement
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Good Questions for Leaders to Ask
• What questions are you currently asking?
• How are you asking?
• Are you asking people to do the right kind of work?
• Think in terms of Leader’s Intent as opposed to scope.
• Are you developing strategic thinkers or order takers in your organization?
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Force Multiplying –Getting a Team to Ask Good Questions
• Creates trust in the team
• Not blindly trusting assumptions
• Breaks routine or habitual thinking
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Good Questions for Teams to Ask
• What is the problem we’re trying to solve (or prevent)?
• What does success look like?
• Do we know that’s true? How?
• Why do we believe X will succeed (or fail)?
• What would happen if we...?
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Identify Your Biases and Blind Spots
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Two Hemispheres vs. Two Brains
Fast Brain (System 1) Slow Brain (System 2)
Research of Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow
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Blind Spots
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Blind Spots Defined
Things you're not good at and need people to tell youthat implicit blind spots.
• Confirmation Bias
• Hindsight Bias
• Group Think
• Ethical
• More?
Common Blind Spots
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Priming
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WYSIATI
A bat and a ball together cost $1.10. The
bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How
much does the ball cost?
Bat= 1.05
Ball = .05
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Confirmation Bias
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Insight Colors/Confirmation Bias
Blue Temperament• People Person• Creative • Nurturing• Collaborative and Cooperative• Relationships
Gold Temperament• Follows the Rules• Stability• Tradition• Organization• Punctual
Orange Temperament• Competitive• Risk-takers• Spontaneous• Center of Attention• Casual
Green Temperament• Logic• Concise Communication• Technical• Intellectual Freedom• Slow Decision Making
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Carving Out Time to Think
• Tell your team to carve out 2 hours to reflect, discuss performance, and improvement.
• Have managers go to lunch 1/mo with their team, and 1/mo with peers.
• Ask leadership team what strategic issues for business are – the “how are we doing” questions.
• Ask your team to provide realistic estimates.
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Tim FerrissCalendar• Start with meditation
• Make Email Wait
• Identify the Habits That Help and Hinder You
• Look at Your Diet
• Punish Yourself (Sometimes)
• Don’t Leave Anything Up to Chance
• Plan an Afterwork Activity
• Make It a Game You Can Win
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Final Thoughts
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Job Description Part 2
• Three minutes to think about job description
• What is in the white space of your job description?
• List 1 problem to solve, or idea to pursue, or question to ask in order to become more strategic
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Tools and Resources
1. Tools of Titans, by Tim Ferriss
2. Fourhourworkweek.com/podcast/Tim Ferriss
3. Start With Why, by Simon Sinek
4. Entreleadership.com/posts.podcastDave Ramsey
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Bill Fournet
Email:
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/billfournet
Twitter:
@billfournet
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