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Strategic Thinking and Planning

Strategic thinking and planning are important business concepts. Strategic thinking involves brainstorming ideas and scenarios, while strategic planning defines goals and the steps to achieve them. The key differences are that strategic thinking informs the strategic plan and is broad, while planning is precise and focused on execution over time.

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105 views3 pages

Strategic Thinking and Planning

Strategic thinking and planning are important business concepts. Strategic thinking involves brainstorming ideas and scenarios, while strategic planning defines goals and the steps to achieve them. The key differences are that strategic thinking informs the strategic plan and is broad, while planning is precise and focused on execution over time.

Uploaded by

Cielo Samson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Strategies thinking and planning

Businesses don’t often find success through blind luck or acting on instinct. Rather, success in
business is the byproduct of a good strategy. Not only does a concrete strategy help a business
solidify its direction, but it also helps boost efficiency and streamline the path to reaching goals.

In the business world, strategy is usually broken down into two parts — strategic thinking and
strategic planning. They are two sides of the same proverbial coin. Strategic thinking and
planning are fundamental components of an effective business strategy, enabling business
leaders to clearly define their most important goals and the steps to achieve them.

To create a successful business, leaders should learn about strategic thinking and planning,
understand the differences between the two, and implement best practices. Those who wish to
learn about the concepts of business and the most in-demand skills are encouraged to seek an
advanced education, such as an MBA degree.

What Is Strategic Thinking?

 Strategic thinking is what business leaders consider the first part of a two-part business
strategy development. Before a strategy can be planned, it must first be conceived.
Strategic thinking is a concept that focuses on the development of new strategic
elements and ideas that will inform the strategic planning phase. Some of the main
components of strategic thinking include:

 Brainstorming: The process of openly discussing business problems and potential


solutions. The loose structure, inclusiveness, and “all ideas are welcome” mentality has
proven to be an effective group method of generating a wide range of possible
solutions.
 Scenario planning: The process of examining a business scenario, identifying all
possible actions the organization could take, and then itemizing all positive and negative
potential outcomes. Scenario planning allows business leaders to see what could
happen to their organization in specific situations.
 Mediation: Sometimes two parties can’t agree on how to pursue a solution or determine
which business problem is a higher priority. Mediation uses a neutral third party to help
the two parties reach a decision or a compromise.
 Although the concept of strategic thinking is multi-faceted, the overall rationale behind it
has proven successful in helping companies create new ideas, develop unique
strategies, and discover ways to gain a competitive advantage. Since strategic thinking
is what ultimately informs the strategic plan, business leaders are meticulous in deciding
which solutions and ideas best serve their organization’s long-term goals.

What Is Strategic Planning?

 Strategic planning helps clearly define the goals an organization wants to accomplish.
Strategic planning, on the other hand, addresses the “how” of the matter. For instance, a
company may surmise they must sell ten million units of their software by the end of the
fiscal year to achieve their revenue goals. Strategic planning is the act of plotting the
specific steps the organization must take to achieve that success.
The main identifiers of strategic planning include:

 Mission statement: A concise explanation of an organization’s purpose and intent. For


example, Google’s mission statement is: “To organize the world’s information and make
it universally accessible and useful.”
 Benchmarks: The series of smaller goals that must be achieved to hit the ultimate goal.
For instance, an annual goal may be broken down into twelve monthly benchmarks, and
each monthly benchmark may be broken down into a series of weekly benchmarks.
 Timeline: Not to be confused with a deadline, a timeline plots the main benchmarks or
milestones of the plan and assigns timeframes to each one. However, timelines are
always subject to challenges that can throw off the schedule — such as a shortage of
employees or the loss of a key partnership. It’s not uncommon for timelines to be
reconfigured to suit the organization’s current landscape.
 Another relevant aspect of strategic planning is tactics. If strategy represents the overall
plan, then tactics are the individual actions necessary for the plan’s execution. For
instance, a car company may use the tactic of offering a limited-time rebate on vehicles
or increasing their pay-per-click marketing campaign budget to reach their end-of-year
sales goal.

 Further, there exists a subset of tactics known as analytical tactics, which is when an
organization employs business analysis techniques to glean useful information that will
help them reach their end goal. Examples of analytical tactics include SWOT (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis and gap analysis. These tactics are
used to establish an organization’s competitive position and compare current
performance to desired performance, respectively.

One final noteworthy detail about the concept of strategic planning is that it can be applied to
the many different facets of an organization, such as finance or human resources.

Differences Between Strategic Thinking and Planning


Strategic thinking and strategic planning are both essential business concepts that help
companies find success, but what are their core differences?

 Strategic thinking is what informs the blueprint created during strategic planning. The
order cannot be reversed.
 Strategic thinking is broad and open to all ideas; strategic planning is precise and
focuses only on ideas that are worth pursuing.
 Strategic thinking addresses where the organization wants to go and the goals they
want to achieve; strategic planning addresses how the organization will do that and
when it will do that, based on a timeline.
 Strategic thinking requires skills such as creativity, open-ended thinking, and
problem-solving — while strategic planning requires organization, critical thinking,
and risk management.
 Strategic thinking is an ongoing process; strategic planning is bound by timelines.

1. Strategic planning is about analysis, strategic thinking is about synthesis.

2. Planners are still important, but we should operate around strategic thinking

3. Strategic thinking and planning are essential skills for business leaders

4. A well-designed strategic plan helps identify opportunities and anticipate challenges

5. Strategic thinkers are less common, which is why we need planners to help implement.

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