*Note: Following is an excerpt from my newest book, STRATEGIC: The Skill to Set Direction, Create Advantage, and Achieve Executive Excellence
“I have a philosophy in life, and that is keeping a steady hand on the wheel. Have a plan and work the plan and adapt the plan. The plan needs to change. Let me use driving vernacular. I don’t take every exit, but I will change lanes, and I will take exits that really make sense. My longevity has been the ability to just sort of filter noise out and know when to take an exit occasionally, when to change lanes, but not doing it so often that everyone around you is rattled and they can’t see what tomorrow is going to be.”
Chris Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton
The essential meta-skill of a leader is to navigate their business with a thorough understanding of their current situation, vision to see the future destination, and the ability to create the path to reach it. When you have the knowledge, tools, and skills to navigate your business, it produces both competence and confidence. How then do you acquire, maintain, and grow the ability to successfully navigate your business, moving from your current position, over and through obstacles, to reach your goals?
It requires you to be strategic. Merriam-Webster dictionary’s primary definition of the term “strategic” is: “of, relating to, or marked by strategy.” Since that’s about as helpful as an umbrella in a hurricane, I’d like to share the following definition:
Strategic: Possessing insight that leads to advantage.
We can break this definition of strategic down into its’ two core elements: insight and advantage. An insight is when you combine two or more pieces of information or data in a unique way to come up with a new approach, new offering, or new solution that moves the business forward. Simply put, an insight is a learning that leads to new value. Advantage is inherently an element of strategy. It commonly refers to a desired end in the form of gain, profit, benefit, or position of superiority.
When we use this definition of strategic, it helps us clarify what is and is not strategic. A person, or plan can be strategic because both have the potential to possess insight that leads to advantage. The word strategic is plastered in front of a lot of other words to make them sound important, but their meanings don’t hold up. Phrases such as “strategic objective” or “strategic imperative” are examples of terms that sound proper but don’t pass the test of being able to house and leverage learnings. Eliminate the overuse of the term “strategic” and you’ll clarify and simplify communication amongst your team.
Here’s something you’ll never hear in business: “Let’s promote her to a senior leadership role…she’s highly tactical.” One of the greatest compliments a person can receive is to be referred to as “strategic.” A survey of 10,000 senior executives asked them to select the leadership behaviors most critical to their organization’s future success and they chose “strategic” 97 percent of the time. Additional research presented by Robert Kabacoff with 60,000 managers and executives “…found that a strategic approach to leadership was, on average, 10 times more important to the perception of effectiveness than other behaviors studied. It was twice as important as communication (the second most important behavior) and almost 50 times more important than hands-on tactical behaviors.”
Business leaders, academicians, and boards of directors echo these findings:
“To me, the single most important skill needed for any CEO today is strategic acuity.” Indra Nooyi, former CEO, Pepsi.
“After two decades of observation, it is clear that mastery of strategy is not an innate skill. Most great CEOs learn how to become better strategic thinkers.” David Yoffie, professor, Harvard Business School and Michael Cusumano professor, MIT Sloan School of Management.
“The #1 trait of active CEOs that make them attractive board candidates is strategic expertise.” Corporate Board of Directors Survey
The No. 1 capability boards are looking for in a CEO: Strategic capability. Cathy Anterasian, Senior Partner, Spencer Stuart.
As the research and thought leaders demonstrate, the importance of being strategic is universal. After all, who doesn’t want to be seen as providing new value that leads to benefits, gains, or profits for their organization?
Here are several questions to assess your ability to be strategic:
1. Do you record your insights on a consistent basis?
2. Do you take time to review your insights on a monthly or quarterly basis?
3. Are you tracking how your customer’s (internal or external) needs and perception of value are changing?
4. Are you aware of how your competitors are allocating their resources to win business?
5. Are you tracking the key patterns and trends across the market and within your business?
If you answered “no” to more than two of these questions, than there’s an opportunity for you to dramatically increase your strategic capabilities. At the heart of being strategic is the awareness, desire, and discipline to learn something from each interaction every day—to discover insights. What did you learn today and how did you transform it into value?
Want to ensure your business strategy isn’t just smart—but sticky?
The Strategic Fitness System is a comprehensive executive development platform to help you develop your strategic leadership capabilities. It contains 50 workouts or practice sessions and hundreds of tools to help you think, plan, and act strategically every day to set clear direction, grow your business, and maximize your leadership performance.
Ready to move from strategy on paper to strategy in practice? Explore the Strategic Fitness System today: https://www.strategic-fitness-system.com