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There's so much more nuance in our everyday lives than we realize. Each day we face a new set of micro problems/opportunities and how we tackle those problems is intrinsically tied to how we think.
The sole outcome of every action taken is entirely contingent upon our ability to assess different situations and make rational decisions based on our desired outcome. Sometimes, the objective is to avoid consequences. Other times, it's to succeed in achieving a goal.
Regardless of what dilemma you're faced with, the skills we default to to make every day decisions are our strategic thinking skills, which include both problem-solving and critical thinking skills among others. While these skills are essential for everything we do, they are not something everyone excels at. Luckily, they can be learned.
Using the examples outlined in this guide, you'll acquire the foundational groundwork for a new and practical way of thinking. Once you master the art of strategic thinking and change the way your brain thinks, you'll be unstoppable in everything you do.
What is Strategic Thinking
Strategic thinking is having the ability to assess problems/opportunities and make good decisions that support your overall goals. It's a central component of many aspects of everyday life, such as communication skills, leadership skills, and formulating resourceful action plans.
While everyone does some sort of strategic thinking during their daily personal life, not everyone optimizes their thought process. Such is why some decisions are sub-optimal than others and why navigating each situation can be tricky at times both in work and everyday life.
Strategic thinkers tend to make better decisions across a variety of circumstances due to their versatility and adaptability in informed decision-making. There is no one solution to every problem, but there are a set of rules you can follow which help you make judgments and find answers that may not be apparent at first glance.
If you want some quick tips on how to improve your strategic thinking immediately, check out this article here.
Strategic Thinking vs. Strategic Planning
You might be inclined to believe that strategic thinking skills and strategic planning are the same – but they’re not.
Strategic thinking is the method. It's the thought process that evaluates a situation and puts the pieces together. It's what allows you to work through a problem, and assess the full picture to arrive at your solution effectively.
Strategic planning or a strategic plan is the outcome or product of strategic thinking. It allows you to take your assessments and plan out a course of action.
Think of it this way: strategic thinking is the method, strategic planning, the madness!
What is Hypothesis-Driven Problem Solving?
Hypothesis-driven problem-solving, also known as "top-down problem solving" and "hypothesis-driven thinking," is when you identify a potential answer to a problem and work backward in order to prove or disprove it.
How Hypothesis-Driven Problem Solving Affects Strategic Thinking
Hypothesis-driven problem-solving is core to efficient strategic thinking. It's the method of problem-solving that will equip you to be a great strategic thinker through being able to work through a problem effectively and efficiently by breaking it down into smaller parts and working backwards in a structured manner.
Working backwards from your answer allows you to save both time and energy.
Of course, strategic thinking isn't just about problem-solving; it's also inherently tied to how your brain functions. You need to develop the ability to think analytically AND apply creative thinking to concoct innovative, well-thought-out solutions. Developing a hypothesis-driven solution requires you to break down the issue, which can be achieved through the visual tool known as an issue tree.
Great strategic thinking takes employing both the left and right brain. Each side plays a pivotal role in different aspects of your thought process and ultimately contributes to powerful strategic thinking.
Examples of Strategic Thinking
Strategic thinking is everywhere. It doesn't matter who you are, how much experience you have, or what industry you're in; you'll always be faced with decisions, both macro and micro in nature. Strategic thinking is considered a powerful skill for this very reason - once you learn it, you are applying it all the time, inside and outside of work, making the benefit priceless.
The following are just some of the countless life experiences in which someone might apply their strategic thinking skills.
Example 1: Your apparel business is trying to acquire more customers
Customer acquisition is a universal problem that every business faces. It doesn't matter if you're a small business or a widespread corporate conglomerate; the goal is always to acquire more customers.
So let's say you run an apparel business that sells shirts, shorts and other custom apparel. Your prospects are looking relatively good, but your company isn't achieving the growth you desire. So, you begin to think of how you might acquire more customers.
Your target audience is teenagers who enjoy streetwear style apparel.
These are the business strategies you come up with to attract more of this demographic:
Social media marketing campaign
Billboard campaign
Storewide promotion
Newspaper ad
Applying hypothesis-driven thinking to this, you would first identify what you believe the answer to be. In doing a quick scan, the first thing you rule out is the billboard option. Billboards have long since been out of style and aren't as effective as other methods. Plus, they're too expensive for your budget.
You also drop the idea of a newspaper ad. Your rationale is that mostly older people read newspapers, which won't work since your target audience is younger.
You think a storewide promotion might be a good idea since teenagers typically don't have as much disposable income as adults, but past data indicates that this is a risky endeavor.
So, applying a quick and dirty assessment, you deem that the safest option at this time is the social media campaign. Not only is it inexpensive to run, but it also allows you to market effectively to your target audience. Using methods like trending hashtags and visually appealing pictures of your clothing, you can gain more customers with little risk. Therefore, this option becomes your hypothesis.
Now, you do the work of uncovering facts that either prove or disprove this hypothesis. See this blog post that details this step more fully.
Once you've fact-found and proved that this option actually does make sense, it becomes your solution and part of your strategic or business plan.
The next step is execution.
Example 2: You're trying to lose weight
Everyone wants to look their best. Whether the goal is to drop 5 pounds or 50, weight loss is no easy task and requires strategic thinking when cooking up a winning strategy.
Over the past couple of years, the pounds have been adding up. You want to shed some excess weight, but work makes it hard. Your job is extremely taxing and when you do have free time, you're too tired to exercise.
What's worse, you mostly eat fast food because that's all you have time for. Eventually, you get fed up and decide to make a change.
You weigh 220 lbs and your goal weight is 180 lbs. You're not in the best shape, and your diet consists mostly of junk food.
You begin to formulate a strategy by listing out possible solutions or courses of action following the rule of MECE:
You cook meals at home using organic foods
You only eat at healthy establishments
You get a gym membership
You exercise at home
Meal replacement bars
Applying a quick scan, you rule out a few things on the list and fairly quickly identify the following hypothesis:
Cook meals at home using organic foods.
Now, you need to fact-find to prove or disprove this hypothesis, answering questions such as "can you afford to cook meals at home with organic foods?", "do you spend enough time at home to cook these meals?", etc.
After answering these questions, you prove that this is in fact a viable option and at that point, it becomes your solution: cook meals at home using organic foods.
Example 3: You want to increase e-commerce sales as an influencer
You are an online influencer who owns an eCommerce business. You want to sell your products, but you don't want to give up your media accounts' fun and creative nature.
The ultimate long-term goal is to leverage your social media following to make sales while continuing to create enjoyable content.
After a bit of brainstorming, these are the solutions you come up with applying MECE:
Subtly mention your brand in your content without being too overbearing
Completely switch over to business-centric content
Sponsor yourself in your posts
Start a new social media account for your e-commerce business that's separate from your personal brand
Promote your e-commerce business through other marketing mediums outside your personal account
You know you can't completely switch to business-centric content because you're certain you'll lose your following that way, and you still want to create fun content regardless.
You don't want to mix promotional content with your regular content, either. It'll divert your audience and likely confuse the algorithms on the platforms you use.
Starting a new social media account for your brand will take too much time and effort to balance. You're only one person, after all.
Sponsoring yourself seems like a good idea sometimes, but you believe the best solution is to subtly hint at your brand and allow people to "find" you naturally. This becomes your hypothesis.
Now, it's time to fact-find to prove or disprove this hypothesis. After completing your fact-finding, you validate that this is in fact the solution and move ahead to execute it.
Your solution: subtly mention your brand in your content without being too overbearing.
Final Thoughts
Strategic thinking is fundamental to everything you do. If you want to be successful and solve any obstacle life throws your way, become an expert in how you think.
Want to learn how you can stimulate your brain and change how you handle problems? Sign up for Lindsay’s strategic thinking masterclass today!
Read more about issues trees, MECE principle, hypothesis driven thinking, strategic thinking, and futures thinking.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lindsay provides growth and advisory services to purpose-driven brands. Named a global innovation leader and Women to Watch, you will find her at the intersection of strategy, story-telling, and innovation. When she’s not collaborating with clients, she’s hitting TEDx and other stages across North America to deliver keynotes on the future of consumerism, strategy, and innovation. Before advising and providing brand and marketing consulting services, Lindsay spent six years at lululemon crafting their global growth strategy, exploring new marketplace opportunities, and growing the company into the number one yoga wear player worldwide. Her experiences culminate in what she refers to as her sweet spot - where strategy, innovation, and insights intersect.
