learning to think strategically requires practice. To start exploring the strategic thinking skill, you have to learn to manage yourself.
1) First craft a personal mission to identify your purpose. All organisations and professional needs a mission statement.
-> Write out your own personal mission statement....
The mission statement should summarise what you are commited to achive and who you intend to serve. Answer the question "What is my purpose?"
-> Recite your statement on a weekly basis
2) Emphasise adding value to customers (or relationships). When crafting a mission do not focus on your own gain, but on helping others. Ask yourself the question "What will I do to add value to my customers or relationships?" or "What have I done to ad value to someone this week?"
3) Know your business as it is and what it should become. Every person has strategies and every person could think of him- or herself as a buisness.
-> Identify your "customers" and what they value.... attention, respekt, interest, knowledge an so on...
-> What will it take to strengthen your business (in these fields of adding value) in the next 5 years?
4) Visualise goals as true scenarios. A mission is a guide to lean on when deciding on actions, visions are more focused and exact. Visions are graphic or discriptive scenarios of what success looks like when it is achieved in the future.
-> Practise doing visions on every are in your or your buisiness life....Make the vision with emotions so it can drive you to the end goal.
-> What is your vision for your business life in 5 years? What does your relationships look like? Where are you living? Put on a great deal of detail.
5) Focus on your main advantage for competing. People are not created the same way, we all have our individuality. Appraise your particular skills and use them as an advantage. It is easier to build on your known strengths than to try to compensate your weaknesses.
-> Identify your strength. What are you good at? Write them down.
6) Scan your surroundings. You are not an isolated island. Use your environment by looking for feedback on how well you are performing. Do you get closer to your goals? Does your vision and mission statements keep you on track? Remember to make changes in your behavior to reflect your mission. Also analyze once in a while if your mission is still a desired goal.
7) Create a plan. Use a creative brainstorm to plot down ideers on how to acomplish your mission... Do a pro/con on each element and make a timeline of the chosen activities... Stick to the plan, but remember to check if it is still relevant once in a while.
8) Evaluate your results. Self management is a dynamic task, meaning that you should continuously make changes and keep track of your progress, to make shure you stay on track.
Keep doing these steps and you'll soon have the success you deserve!
