Strategic Thinking???

[ccc123]

Deleated

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by ccc123

So the company I work with just gave reviews this past week, mine went very well. My director who I respect ,gave me my review and was very complimentary and we have a very strong and supportive working relationship. Basically we have each others back! - and we both know it. that being said he shared with me one point that came up in his own review with the folks he reports to, they said one area if they had to focus on something, would be his strategic thinking, I almost fell off the chair when he said this, as I have to say he is one of the most informed and knowledgeable guys around here, he understands the nuts and bolts as well as the big picture - from my perspective its that people arent listening to what he says - or they are hearing him and making others think that the thought came from them - this guys is the kind of guy you want in the trenches with you and also the guy who can look at your 10 -20 year plan - I was shocked when he shared this with me - and I asked when and if he ever had time to think strategically what all those other do nothing people around here might do now that he was taking that over? - anyone ever have something like this on your radar?
I'm not sure anyone could understand what you just wrote.

 

[ccc123]

sorry - what I'm asking is how do you take the recommendation that you be a more strategic thinker from superiors who cant figure their way out of a paper bag! - Darknworn - I hear you and thanks! - I got carried away with bewilderment!

 

[Quirk]

I'm not sure why he's complaining to his subordinate about his review. If he's so far ahead of a senior management team he doesn't respect, he's probably working in the wrong place.

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by Quirk

I'm not sure why he's complaining to his subordinate about his review. If he's so far ahead of a senior management team he doesn't respect, he's probably working in the wrong place.

+1 - your reports are not your friends, and you shouldn't be talking to them about your boss or bosses.


I actually have a report who I have said a similar thing: he is great with relationships, he does great technical presentations, he has no stratigic thinking, and that is a serious problem in his job.

I had a friend who was a real A-hole, and was really into all things japanese and chinese. he used to talk abou how he studied "strategy" - he had read the art of war, and a bunch of other stuff. and he would come up with **** like "when the cranes leave the nest, the grasshopers make jam and bread" and tell me that that was stratigic thought.


here is stratigic thought:

I know what I want to achieve. I know where I am today. I know what steps I have to take, realistically and practically, to go from where I am today to what I want to achieve. I know what I need to do to verify I am on the right track, and what I need to do to make adjustments if I am not on the right track. I know at what points I will be measuring something objective in order to decide if I am on the right track.


Is that what your boss is doing?

 

[Quirk]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

I had a friend who was a real A-hole, and was really into all things japanese and chinese. he used to talk abou how he studied "strategy" - he had read the art of war, and a bunch of other stuff. and he would come up with **** like "when the cranes leave the nest, the grasshopers make jam and bread" and tell me that that was stratigic thought.
That actually made me laugh out loud.

 

[Bradford]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

I had a friend who was a real A-hole, and was really into all things japanese and chinese. he used to talk abou how he studied "strategy" - he had read the art of war, and a bunch of other stuff. and he would come up with **** like "when the cranes leave the nest, the grasshopers make jam and bread" and tell me that that was stratigic thought.

Originally Posted by Quirk

That actually made me laugh out loud.

Wow - I need to find a way to use that quote in my Strategic Management class tomorrow night

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

I know what I want to achieve. I know where I am today. I know what steps I have to take, realistically and practically, to go from where I am today to what I want to achieve. I know what I need to do to verify I am on the right track, and what I need to do to make adjustments if I am not on the right track. I know at what points I will be measuring something objective in order to decide if I am on the right track.

Record that on tape and sell it for $1.99 at gas stations. I guarantee you'll make millions!!

Maybe package it with a poster for $4.99. I'm calling Donnie Deutsch!

 

[globetrotter]

ok, breathing life into this thread -

one of my reports has a lot of trouble thinking stratigically (or what I would call stratigic thinking). I need to teach him, or let him go. I would rather teach him.

seriously speaking - did what I wrote above (previous post, about my view on stratigic thinking) make sense to you? Anybody have a better view?

 

[hplindley]

Strategic thinking sounds like a buzzword used only in offices where your boss wears a bluetooth headset, a cell-phone belt clip, and khakis to work.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...












(but there is).

 

[gdl203]

Get him the poster

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Get him the poster

I might just do that.

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by hplindley

Strategic thinking sounds like a buzzword used only in offices where your boss wears a bluetooth headset, a cell-phone belt clip, and khakis to work.

).

unless of course you are trying to plan something that will happen in the future, and then maybe it could be usefull......

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

I might just do that.
No but seriously, maybe you should sit down with him or go to lunch with him and play a little game of scenarios to get him to think about future business opportunities: e.g. what if Client A decides to go with Supplier X, what would you do/say? then dig deeper and deeper into next steps of decisions, and then roll back to see what he thinks another play/decision would yield. etc...

Ask him to project some stuff for you. Sales, market trends, etc... to get him to think about strategic direction

 

[SantosLHalper]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

seriously speaking - did what I wrote above (previous post, about my view on stratigic thinking) make sense to you? Anybody have a better view?

What you said earlier was a good synopsis of how I see strategic thinking, at least in my business.

The most crucial aspect to me is the evaluation, corrective action, and objective measurement components of the plan. It's really easy to put together a perfect plan, but to see it through to completion and to know whether it's been successful is tremendously important.

The only thing you might add is knowing when to quit.