You’re looking to build your strategic thinking skills. What’s the best way to start?

I really appreciate the contrast between conventional McKinsey Horizon Thinking and emerging opportunities. @Steve Blank had a nice article about this in HBR a few years ago. I would also spend time being more comfortable with complexity and systems thinking, as those are useful to see the multiple realities that you are going to be dealing with for strategic vision, approaches, prioritization, and create-to-operation practices.

Steven Haines, creator of Sequent Learning, has incredible tools and resources to evaluate your strategic thinking and product management. Go back to a project you recently completed and use his tools to determine what you accomplished and areas you may have missed. I would also spend time thinking about how the project aligned with your company's strategic initiatives. Finally, I would get feedback from your leader on where you can grow.

In assessing your strategic thinking capabilities, an often overlooked aspect is the emotional intelligence component. Recognizing your emotional responses to changes, challenges, and uncertainties in the business environment can significantly influence your strategic decisions. By understanding and managing your emotions, you can better navigate complex situations, enhancing your ability to think strategically. Reflect on situations where emotions might have clouded your judgment or opened new perspectives, and consider how this awareness can sharpen your strategic acumen.

To support my strategic thinking, I have taken courses in leadership as well as financial management, product management, project management and Six Sigma. You do not need to be an expert in all of this, but take a high level overview on each as a way to expand your thinking. I also recommend spending time in other departments to understand what they look for and WHY. The WHY is the biggest thing. From there, work to find common themes or threads. This can help you see the bigger picture and grow your strategic thinking.

A profound way to enhance your strategic thinking is by engaging in cross-industry learning. Often, strategic insights come from outside your immediate field, offering innovative perspectives and solutions that are not yet widespread in your industry. By exploring strategies in sectors that face similar challenges but have different dynamics, such as technology adaptation in healthcare versus education, you can uncover unique approaches and apply them to your context. This cross-pollination of ideas fosters creativity and can give you a competitive edge.

I try to listen, read or take a course constantly. The continuous habit of exposing yourself to new thinking, will help strengthen your strategic thinking. TIP! Take time to learn about business practices outside of your industry. This has brought out this biggest ideas for me.

To deepen your strategic thinking, immerse yourself in environments that simulate high-stakes decision-making. Online strategy games or virtual simulations designed for business executives can provide a risk-free space to experiment with different strategies and see the outcomes of various decisions. These simulations often mimic real-world dynamics and can offer valuable lessons in resource allocation, competitive strategy, and market analysis. Reflecting on these experiences and applying the insights to real-world scenarios can accelerate your strategic development.

Building strategic thinking skills involves developing the ability to analyze situations, make informed decisions, and plan for the future. Ask feedback from peers, mentors, or managers. Different perspectives can provide valuable insights that contribute to more comprehensive strategic thinking.

While seeking feedback, diversify your sources to include not only those within your organization but also clients, suppliers, and even competitors through industry forums and networks. This broader perspective can reveal insights about your strategic approach's external perceptions and impact. For instance, suppliers might provide feedback on your negotiation strategies, while clients can offer perspectives on how well your product strategy meets their needs. Competitors in forums can inadvertently offer insights into industry benchmarks and standards.

Incorporate advanced analytical tools and techniques into your reflection process to uncover deeper insights about your strategic thinking. Tools such as data analytics and visualization software can help you track and analyze your strategic decisions' outcomes over time, identifying patterns and correlations that might not be evident through traditional reflection methods. By quantifying the impact of your strategic choices, you can make more informed decisions moving forward, continually refining your approach based on concrete data.

Strategic thinking is not just about planning and decision-making; it's also about fostering a culture that values curiosity, learning, and adaptability. Encourage your team to adopt a strategic mindset by creating an environment where questioning the status quo, experimenting with new ideas, and learning from failures are celebrated. This culture shift can transform how your organization approaches challenges and opportunities, making strategic thinking a collective effort rather than an individual endeavor.