Are You Being Strategic?

If you are like most people, the idea of being strategic sounds like a very good idea.  But how do you really know if you are being strategic or not?  And why does it matter?

Consider that to truly know if you are being strategic, you first need to be clear about how you define success.  Does success mean checking things off of your “to do” list or project plan? Or does success mean achieving an outcome or result that is strategic and matters to you or others?

For example, when you…

…go to college, do you ultimately aspire to get a degree or to get a good paying job?

…implement a new system, is success defined by turning the system “on” or by what your company can now do or do better because you put that system in place?

…create a new marketing plan, is success declared the day you launch that new campaign or do you wait to declare success when you reach your sales target?

Of course, it’s important to celebrate the completion of the things we set out to do.  Getting a degree, implementing a new system, and developing a new marketing plan are all things that take hard work and should be celebrated.

But are you really getting the results you want and need?

A degree, a system, and a plan aren’t necessarily results in and of themselves.  And they may not even lead to the results you expect or want.  You can…

…get a degree and end up with debt rather than with a great paying job. 

…implement a new system and it can create confusion and frustration making you less efficient. 

…invest in creating a new marketing plan and fail to increase sales enough to make that plan worth the investment.

These are examples of the cost of failing to think strategically in everything you do.

The truth is that most action plans are not strategic, and that may be costing you and your team or organization more time, money and satisfaction than you realize.

In working with thousands of leaders around the world I continue to be amazed at the degree to which the concept of strategy is so widely misunderstood.  In part, this is because some believe strategy is only the job of the people at the very top in an organization.  Yet even at the executive levels in organizations I often hear about strategic planning meetings that produce action plans that are not based on a solid foundation of strategic thinking.

What makes an action plan strategic?

The Webster definition of “strategy” is “a plan of action”, and the definition of “strategic” is “crucial”. So it follows that a Strategic Plan is a “crucial plan of action”.

Sounds simple, right?

People certainly get the planning and the action part. However, there is one ingredient that distinguishes a strategic plan from any other plan of action.

It’s this one ingredient that makes it a “crucial” plan and it isn’t evident in the definition.

The one thing that makes an action plan strategic is the promise of an outcome.

I use the word “promise” because a strategic action plan is more than just a direction – it defines specifically what success looks like in terms of outcomes that can be measured or observed.

[ctt template=”4″ link=”99HTA” via=”yes” ]To create a strategic plan you must begin with the end in mind.[/ctt]

Success in executing a strategic plan is declared, not based on the completion of the actions themselves, but by the value ultimately created by the actions taken.

Why do leaders need to be more strategic?

Leaders are counted on to deliver results that matter. To reliably deliver results that matter you must think and act strategically in everything you do. Effective leaders…

…predict the future by promising to deliver a future as they define it, and then rigorously ensure they make it so.

…begin with the end in mind, and ensure the tactics over time deliver on that outcome.

…adjust course along the way as “as intentions collide with and accommodate a changing reality” (Henry Minztberg).

Even while adjusting course, effective leaders never lose sight of the end game – the reason why they and their team or organization do what they do, as well as the specific definition of how they will know they have succeeded.

Now take a look at your latest action plan and ask yourself: are you truly being strategic?

Featured Image Source: www.woodenearth.com/collections/wooden-chess-boards-sale