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A Perspective by Kelly Emrick MBA, Ph.D.
The foundation of success is often said to lie in being
strategic. However, being strategic is less about having a few grand goals and
more about being adaptable to everyday actions. It's about pattern recognition
and change anticipation; it's about seeing the connections between today's
moves and tomorrow's outcomes. When making good strategic decisions, what
matters is not who you are or where you are in the executive suite but how you
think and act. At the end of the day, what good strategy gets you is a path of
least resistance—today and tomorrow. And in your career, the more value you
create, the stronger your path of least resistance. The goal is not to follow a
strict plan but to fully comprehend what motivates your actions and what kinds
of outcomes signify success for you, either personally or professionally. In
the context of a career, this might mean knowing which pivotal skills or
experiences you want to cultivate so you don't fixate on climbing a
predetermined ladder. Similarly, in the context of your daily life, purpose can
inform how you spend your time so that it contributes to the outcomes you want,
whether in personal growth, financial stability, or community
engagement. Next, being observant is a vital part of a strategic thinker's
career and daily life. Good decision-making stems from good observation. This
is particularly true in leadership positions. A close look at team dynamics
lets a strategic leader spot issues that might otherwise develop into serious
problems a short while down the road. But even in a personal capacity,
observation can yield dividends. When people take the time to notice the
different ways they fill their days, they might be able to identify with
startling clarity the kinds of ups and downs that constitute their everyday
emotional landscape. And then, of course, there's the business of questioning
assumptions. Seeing what's right in front of you isn't hard. Living in a global
society that is full of illusions is hard. And making fact-based decisions
instead of assumption-based ones is crucial to being a leader who's either
effective or ineffective. Those who think strategically are at ease with
ambiguity and see uncertainty not as a problem to be solved but as a chance to
innovate. They are habitual questioners, asking "What if?" and
"Why not?" to push past the boundaries of conventional wisdom and
explore alternative solutions. Their mindset is designed to find hidden
opportunities—whether completely reimagining a business model or simply finding
ways to be more efficient in a daily routine. Strategic thinkers are also
patient and resilient; they may want to rush to the immediate rewards tempting
us all, but they recognize that the valuable goals in life often require
sustained effort, a few well-timed setbacks, and significant recalibration.
Resilience is a must-have for anyone who aspires to
long-term success in a career or personal endeavor. Life happens, and even the
best-laid plans can go awry, with bad luck that tests a person's patience to
its limits. When that happens, some folks throw up their hands and give up.
Still, the strategic thinker brushes off the dust, learn from the setback, and
move on, all the while knowing that the sustainable success they are shooting
for can only happen if they stay true to the overarching goals they have
set for themselves. Another thing they do? They make sure to prioritize. This
does not mean that they pay no mind to other areas of life but rather allocate
attention to them strategically. When it comes to careers, for instance, who
among us wouldn't prioritize our project choices if we had the option and time
to do so? The strategic thinker sees that as more than just a first step.
Prioritization is a critical thinking task with potentially significant
payoffs. In the context of living, the strategic thinker organizes and directs
time in ways that seem to maximize imminent and forthcoming value. They may
even be tempted to use some tortuous methods to get to these perceived
destinations faster. When we solve problems together, we gain new understandings.
We think better and more deeply because we think together. We are not just
using old cognitive pathways to find the exact old solutions. When we expose
ourselves to all the alternative viewpoints in a collaborative setting, we are
also exposing ourselves to the myriad potential solutions that those
collaborative viewpoints allow us to see. The brilliance of creative
problem-solving lies in this: our collaborators' alternative pathways of
thought strengthen our thinking. We are not just standing on the shoulders
of others who have "been there and thought that." We are learning to
adapt our problem-solving strategies to the seemingly insurmountable problems
that life throws at us. Thinking strategically is crucial for society, and
their strategic thinking must be closely tied to the decisions that
have an even more profound effect on our lives—leading decisions. Whether in
the boardroom or the home, thinking strategically better equips us to make the
kinds of decisions that serve our lives well and that serve our
values well.
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