How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking

Overview

• Strategic Thinking is....
• driven by a clear hypothesis
• thinking about the past, present and future effects of a given course of action
• requires intelligent opportunism- taking advantaging and seizing every opportunity.
• Focused on achieving results

Strategic Planning vs. Strategic Thinking

• Strategic thinking heavily relies on the indivudals ability to discern between different courses of action, the ideas are voiced collaboratively and planning takes place only after a consensus is reached.

What it takes!

• Strategic thinking demands that one is able to develop a capacity for strategic foresight
• One must learn what questions to ask

Henry Mintzberg

In Closing...

• Strategic thinking is fundamentally different from strategic planning
• One must learn to ask the right questions and to discern between the good and the bad within different courses of actions
• This mental process is a necessary tool needed in order for individuals to fulfil the decision making roles of management