With the global economy facing continued uncertainty, the value of strategic thinking skills has never been higher. In PWC’s 2015 CEO survey, which surveyed over 1300 international business leaders, strategic thinking was rated as the most critical competency to cultivate in the leaders of tomorrow.
At Footprint Consulting, we believe that the mark of a truly brilliant strategic thinker is the ability to identify any potential biases in their own decision making processes. Every leader has their own specialties: areas of the business that they naturally gravitate towards or prioritise.
To help business leaders improve their strategic thinking skills, we are publishing a series of reflective questions that stimulate a more holistic way of looking at an organisation. The articles, published over an eight week period, will each target a specific critical business area:
Vision & Strategy, Strategy Deployment, Sales & Marketing, Innovation, Organisational Effectiveness, Risk Management, Leadership, People & Culture
Questions to get started
This week, we are beginning with Vision and Strategy. CEOs and seniors executives should ask the following five questions to get the process moving in a fruitful direction:
1. Does your vision clearly articulate what you strive to achieve for your clients, employees, shareholders and other key stakeholders?
2. Is your vision an effective balance of what you are passionate about, what you do best, and what will deliver financial returns?
3. Are your employees engaged with your vision to the point where it creates unity and momentum in the workplace?
4. Do you continually assess the external environment and adapt your strategy to pre-empt breakthroughs before they become a necessity?
5. Do you ensure that trade offs are carefully considered in order to reinforce your strategic position?
Please see the video below to learn more about the benefits of our Business Diagnostic App: