Strategic thinking, which is often intertwined with strategic management and strategic planning in the literature, has been offered as the new planning organizer for dynamic organizations including universities. Strategic thinking without strategic planning or management will cannibalise itself in a quest for structure and process. Great Strategic Thinkers You May Know. An effective planning process requires really good strategic thinking abilities and qualities. At Strathmore … 3 step process to shift gears from tactical planning to strategic thinking Strategic Thinking: 11 Critical Skills Needed. Still for some, strategic planning remains an analytical activity, but the organizational practices surrounding it have been transformed, whereas others believe the real purpose of the analytical tools of strategic planning is to facilitate creativity, which is a part of strategic thinking. Strategic thinking involves making a series of decisions about what actions the company intends to take to become more successful. Strategic planning has been criticized for attempting to systematize strategic thinking and strategy formation, which Henry Mintzberg argues are inherently creative activities involving synthesis or "connecting the dots" which cannot be systematized. Strategic thinking is an extremely effective and valuable tool. Strategic Thinking is more of a way of life for a business while Strategic Planning is often treated as an event. The Takeaway: Use Strategic Thinking when planning and making decisions about things that potentially have long lasting and significant consequences. Since this was a recent … Purpose . Strategic planning vs. strategic thinking. A strategic plan usually consists of a vision and a mission statement, a financial or operational objective, an estimate of the resources required, and a summary of how the initiative fits in with the company’s overall mission. And the second role is to keep checking if the goals and objectives of the organization are properly followed and fulfilled. The ongoing nature of strategic thinking and the impact it has on the planning process. Strategic planning, on the other hand, is a continual planning process that relies on strong strategic thinking. Planning is “Thinking before the action takes place ”. Strategic thinking informs strategic planning/management. Systems Thinking in Strategic Planning. The prime objective here is to ensure that the company follows the strategic thinker’s guidelines. My topic of reflection this week is based on the strategic planning and strategic thinking in an organization. Strategic Planning. Strategic Planning Process – Creating a Workshop to Develop Strategy BrainZooming. With strategic thinking, employees at all levels and in all functions continually scan for new ways to contribute to the organization’s success. Strategic thinking without strategic planning/management will cannibalize itself in a quest for structure and process. It decides beforehand, what, when, how the task is to be accomplished. Brainzooming - All Posts Collaboration Performance Strategic Planning Strategic Thinking Strategy Tools MORE. Ahead of the Curve: A Guide to Applied Strategic Thinking was our first book on strategy. All bridges have two primary support pillars and a span between the two, allowing one part of land to be connected with another. Applied Strategic Thinking is the ability to anticipate and begin exploiting tomorrow’s opportunities today. What is “Strategy”. It is not exactly same as strategy, which is nothing but “a comprehensive plan.” The strategy is all about using a trick to gain success in a particular purpose. Develops effective plans that are aligned with an organization’s mission. Strategic Thinking and Strategic Planning: Two Pieces of the Same Puzzle. Strategic planning vs. strategic thinking. Strategic Thinking is a more comprehensive planning model that covers innovation, strategic planning and operational planning. Collaboration Meeting eBook Groups 56 . Strategic thinking at work involves a strategic plan, mostly annually. Strategic planning exercises need to foster a mindset of critical or strategic thinking. A company often goes through a strategic planning process once a year, creating a document that is, in essence, a guidebook for the management team to use in the upcoming year. In this book we set out to help people on the front lines of an organization learn how to think more strategically in order to become a more effective force in their work. Also to see the amazing change in your brand visibility and revenue and organizational climate as a whole. Visualize a famous bridge, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, or Tower Bridge. Therefore a clear understanding of the value and the benefits of strategic thinking are indispensable. Strategic planning/management gives voice, action and structure to strategic thinking. Strategic thinking vs. strategic planning. Strategic thinking basically means an organization is thinking how to better position itself among its competition for future success (2). Matter is based on an ontology of over 30 recommended skills. Strategic thinking. Maybe you have done something similar before, or maybe you have never led a strategic planning process. It is a process that applies vision development, strategic planning and operational planning to develop business strategies that have a greater chance for success. Having one without the other can be a recipe for disaster. I will at this point look at some basic differences between the two. It is typically conducted every 3-5 years to help groups grow and continually evolve to address changing needs. Strategic planning requires an effective strategy that sows the seed for an efficient execution plan. The distinction of ‘strategic planning and strategic thinking therefore leaves many confused on which one to prioritize on. Following Related Topics: Managing yourself; Career planning; Communication; Creativity; Decision making; See All Topics . Strategic thinking informs strategic planning or management. By knitting strategy and tactics together, you can achieve the right balance of effectiveness and efficiency which is crucial to the success of an organisation. It is a reality in business today that strategic thinking and execution of strategic planning is proving to be a challenge among many leaders. In reality, though, they are more like two sides of the same coin. When done correctly, strategic planning is not a one-time or annual event. Strategic thinking is a process that defines the manner in which people think about, assess, view, and create the future for themselves and others. Always use Critical Thinking as a … The strategic planning is an analytical activity because it is related to the thinking. Strategic planning answers where you are now, where you’re going, and how you’re getting there. Thinking outside the lines: linear strategic planning versus adaptive strategic thinking ... Over the last hundred years, the conceptual basis of strategy as an adaptive thinking was undermined by The rise of linear thinking* as a way of seeing the world was based upon the deterministic physics of Newton. Second, the strategy piece of strategic planning is a more intuitive and messy process than execution planning. Without it, plans will recreate the status quo and fail to enliven the organization. Hopefully, no company makes major decisions based on hunches or gut feelings. Matter’s Definition of Strategic Thinking. One of the most useful tools for good strategy analysis is systems thinking. On a management and leadership level, strategy thinking is the main part of the strategic planning process which involves a wide range of activities such as goals settings, task delegation, developing plans, decision making, analyzing environment, and much more. Some people think this means you have to treat your business like a computer program, but really it’s simply a way to think through all of the connections that affect your business and how it both operates and competes in the marketplace. For over 20 years, Harvard ManageMentor® has set the standard for on-demand leadership development. Latest. Angela Merkel. Presented by Dr Terrie Temkin from CoreStrategies4Nonprofits. Strategic and tactical thinking should go hand-in-hand. While it is great to be able to create goals and objectives to take the business to the next level, there also needs to be a plan in place to get there. Strategic planning or management gives voice, action and structure to strategic thinking. June 2009; SSRN Electronic Journal; DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.1418793. Strategic Thinking is a comprehensive planning model that covers innovation, strategic planning and operational planning. If strategic thinking respects operational planning, it is the case that strategic planning has a tendency to merge with the dictates of operational necessity. Simply stated, strategic planning is the process of looking at the important issues within the association with current insight and innovation. On the contrary, strategic management is an action-oriented activity. In strategic planning, leaders gather data and decide on the path the organization will take to achieve its goals. Strategic Thinking and Planning. Your organization is using strategic thinking if it can look at the past and present, take the best from both, and decide what course to take for the future (3). Strategic thinking and operational thinking may seem like two separate planes of existence. One can apply strategic thinking to arrive at decisions that can be related to your work or personal life. Introduction Strategy has never been more challenging, or more important, than in today’s environment of global competition, in which, corporate strategies must transcend the borders of nations and markets. JANUARY 31, 2017. Strategic planning is an application of strategic thinking that involves teams, organizations or communities. Though both strategic thinking and execution planning share some overlap in team members, the number of people and skill levels are radically different. Strategic planning vs. strategic thinking in an organization. Effective strategic thinking enables leaders to plan for the future, create steps to achieve that plan, and evaluate and iterate on the results. Strategic planning activity uses management by plans, whereas strategic management process uses management by results. In the view of F. Graetz, strategic thinking and planning are “distinct, but interrelated and complementary thought processes” that must sustain and support one another for effective strategic management. Hence the strategic management has to play a dual role in strategic planning vs strategic management, one is to incorporate all the functional areas of the organization into one thing and to make sure that functional area so incorporated work well with each other. Follow this topic. It's an on-going process, reviewed quarterly, that affects the organization's initiatives, plans, and activities. Strategic plans are what inform action. It is the skill of managing affairs of the enterprise.