How to develop strategic thinking for good decisions

Strategic thinking is a skill useful for making the right decisions in any aspect of life. It helps you think critically and logically and devise an action plan that can lead to achieving your goal. This skill can be developed by practicing using simple techniques.

8 ways to develop strategic thinking for good decisions

1. Ask strategic questions

The easiest thing to do to develop strategic thinking is to ask the right questions. This will allow you to train your planning skills, find opportunities, reason logically, and learn to analyze. Strategic issues may present challenges, ambiguities, or options. Also, if they relate to your career, they should correspond to your role and responsibilities so that you can act by them in the future.

Here are some examples of strategic questions that you can ask: — What are your short-term and long-term goals? — What would you do if you faced serious obstacles in performing an important task that would prevent you from advancing in your career? — Think about the case when you had to use an unconventional approach to solving problems. How effective was it, and what would you fix about it now? — How did you deal with the most serious mistake at work? — What are your competencies, strengths, and best qualities that are not fully disclosed, and how can you fix them? — Where can I find more resources, such as ideas, time, and like-minded people, to achieve my goal?

2. Watch and reflect

In addition to asking strategic questions, you need to learn how to answer them correctly. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is to observe and reflect on the current situation, ensuring that your decision is based on facts. Visit. A F R I N I K . C O M . For the full article .For example, imagine that the company you work for has started to lose market share of one of its products. And because of this, there was an outflow of regular customers.

At the same time, the company has gained market share due to a completely new customer base. It’s easy to guess why such a situation might arise, but thinking can lead you down the wrong path at a critical moment in your organization’s existence. Instead of unthinkingly following assumptions, gather as much information as possible and use it when developing a strategy.

For example, you can conduct surveys among new customers to determine how they rate the product, the reason for choosing it, and for what purposes it is used. Understanding why a product attracts a certain audience will help you adapt your marketing strategy and ensure that more customers can meet their needs by purchasing it.

3. Learn to anticipate problems

Think about the various potential outcomes of your strategy. Try to anticipate the changes that may occur or potential problems. When you plan a few steps, it will be much easier for you to create an effective strategy. For example, when it comes to work, you need to keep abreast of new developments in your field of activity, which may lead to a decrease in interest in the services provided by your company.

4. Consider the opposite ideas

Once you’ve decided on a strategy to help your organization achieve its goals, question your assumptions and test your hypothesis through rigorous testing. By doing this, you can be sure you haven’t overlooked any possibilities. By playing devil’s advocate with different ideas and assumptions, you can figure out the weaknesses in your arguments in advance and prepare to defend your strategy when others ask questions. It can also help you hone your logical communication skills and realize your goals. Get into the habit of asking yourself questions every time you make a statement. Is it worth considering other points of view? Is there another opportunity that you overlooked?

5. Set clear goals and periodically evaluate their

Develop strategic thinking by setting long-term goals for yourself. Focus on making them reasonable, realistic, achievable, and timely. In addition, you need to create an action plan with specific steps to help you achieve your goals. Monitor your progress regularly, review your approach, and update your plans if they don’t produce results.

6. Play

You can combine business with pleasure to develop strategic skills. Games like chess, Rubik’s cube, and team sports will help. Video games can also be useful, for example, in economic strategies where you need to develop your business or city.

7. Find a balance between logic and creativity

To develop strategic thinking, you need to use logic and creativity. Finding a balance between them is important to solving problems and achieving your goals effectively. For example, when you develop a new service, you most likely start by creatively solving the problem of the consumers who will use it. However, it is necessary to include logical thinking so that the product makes a profit, is not too expensive, and can be easily implemented in the existing conditions.

8. Use formal learning

You can develop strategic thinking on your own, but it’s worth considering other training options that may be useful. If you need to improve your skills quickly to move up the career ladder or solve a current problem, consider formal training. You can take a course to help you find out the information you need, or ask your boss if there is an opportunity to complete further training to improve your skills.