Strategic Thinking: a Resolution Refresh

Set goals (not resolutions) and create plans to achieve them. Here are some ideas on how to think more strategically about it all.

Chances are high that you made New Year’s Resolutions this year. Over 80% of American’s do. Another interesting statistic: 80% of New Year’s Resolutions fail by the second week of February. So, it’s highly likely that you and I are both suffering from this, to one degree or another. You might be wondering – why even set resolutions? I invite you to consider a simple mindset shift: instead of resolutions, try setting goals and intentions.

Studies have shown over and over that those who set goals achieve more success. Why? Because they get us to focus.  Setting goals and intentions has been my approach for many years and it has supported me in stretching to achieve more than I thought possible.

Curiously, I find that we overachievers create our own barriers that can keep our true success and joy at bay. We may self-sabotage by procrastinating on a difficult new thing that is outside our comfort zone by making a resolution to change ourselves. The resolution itself is supposed to be our motivation. 

Alternatively, when we set a goal, our success is more readily at hand. We can create mini goals that motivate us along the way, culminating in achievement of our larger goal, thus leaving lack of motivation less to chance. Goal setting for me means not only declaring my end-state but also reverse engineering my steps to success, creating a plan with a timeline, measurements, and motivational deliverables, and engaging others for support. 

There are lots of great articles out there about how to set goals and make them “stick”. For today, I want to talk about leadership skills and goals and how we can make those stick. Specifically, I want to talk about strategic thinking as a goal.

In my coaching business, people frequently share with me that they have a goal to be “more strategic”. Have you written it in your own goals or seen it in your teams? It is definitely a common goal, with little tangible ways to support its achievement.  My clients are typically looking for tools, frameworks and guides for how to think and act more strategically. It’s a behavioral type of goal rather than a skill-based goal, and it takes more art than science to measure. Let’s explore.

In my experience the following 5 areas are key to being seen as a “strategic thinker”:

1.     Decisions

2.     Questions

3.     Relationships

4.     Learning

5.     Risk

Let’s explore each.

Decisions

What kinds of decisions are you making? Are they focused on daily to-dos or longer-term impact?  Are they supportive of the organization’s goals? Do you consider future impact and unintended consequences? What is the scope of data that you use in making a decision?  Are you using data at all? Do you know what your strategic contribution to your organization is? If not, it can be difficult to make the right level of decisions. 

Questions

What kinds of questions are you asking? Are they about tactics and process or are they about “why”, “why now”, and “what if”?  Are you asking questions about what success looks like for a customer deal, a meeting, an initiative? Are you asking “what else we can do” to get further faster?  And let me say again – are you asking “why”?

Relationships

Who are you networking with? Are you actively building connections with people who challenge you to think differently? Do you only go to people when you have a problem or need, or do you keep in regular contact? Do people come to you with questions? Do they take your advice?

Learning

What is your learning orientation? How curious are you? Do you listen to a variety of podcasts on your commute? Do you read the news? Do you subscribe to journals and read them? Do you take courses and webinars to learn new things? What are you learning? How much time do you spend learning about new ideas, functions, tools, skills, competitors, markets, etc? How uncomfortable are you in your current role? Comfy cozy? Then you are not being strategic.  

Risks

What is your risk tolerance level on a scale from 1-10? Are you afraid to take risks? How informed are you on the risk you might be taking? What approaches do you take to calculate the risk? It’s only by taking risks and experiencing failure that we can be courageous. If you are playing it safe, you are not thinking strategically.

If you have a resolution to be a more strategic, how could the five points outlined above support you in creating goals and plans to achieve them? 

Let’s try this out together. Start with some baby steps. Here’s one we can all do right now around Learning.  Leaders are learners, so let’s all set a learning goal for end of Q2. Here’s one I have created for myself; you are welcome to try this approach yourself:

New learning goal:

• Understand and apply marketing tools for entrepreneurs

Why this goal? Tie it to something bigger than myself so that I have motivation to learn.

• Why 1: Because I want to ensure that I am making the maximum impact and reaching people who can benefit from my services
• Why 2? Because I like meeting new people
• Why 3? Because new ideas and new people give me energy
• Why 4? Because I enjoy supporting others in achieving their goals
• Why 5? Because I want to make the maximum positive impact I can on the planet while I’m here

How will I know I’ve learned it? This is where I start to reverse engineer my plan.

• I will have a marketing plan
• I will have added 150 new connections to my email list by May 31

My Plan:

• Take an Online Course that I find via my network, that has credibility
• Sign up by March 1
• Take course as scheduled
• Set up the time in my calendar to learn and apply what I am learning
• Set up 5 network meetings in March and April to get advice and input from others who are learning and applying this to their businesses successfully
• Implement a minimum of 3 new ideas in March, April and May
• By May 31, I will understand more about marketing for entrepreneurs, will have a plan, will have applied it, and will be closer to my goal of having a maximum positive impact on the planet – staring with 150 new connections in my email list!

If you are looking to refresh your resolutions, create goals and plans, I am here to support you. I’ve “been there and done that” myself – with lots of ideas and resolutions and no way to make them come alive, motivation burning out by the second week of February. People who work with me consistently succeed by creating plans of action that are aligned to their goals and timelines. If you are all in and want to get moving forward NOW, type “yes” below and I’ll set up a call. Having a powerful coach by your side will get your further faster than ever before. I look forward to connecting!   Wishing you great success, always – Kate Dowling 

Kate Dowling Strategic Consulting | www.kwdowling.com | 651.343.0820 | [email protected]