I wish I had a buck for every time I heard a CEO, president or other executive leader lament about the lack of strategic thinking skills in their organization. I suspect that if we could peruse the succession plans for the Fortune 500 group of companies, that “strategic thinking skills” would be among the top three overall needs in each and every one of them. These companies are not wrong to suggest that strategic thinking is at short supply in their firms, but they aren’t entirely right, either.
I am convinced by the evidence that I’ve gleaned in the thousands of interviews that I have conducted as part of my executive coaching practice, that a significant part of this issue has nothing to do with thinking skills at all. It is often about the lack of strong strategic speaking skills.
Said another way, I have worked with executives with well developed strategic thinking skills, but poorly developed strategic speaking skills. The problem is that most strategic review sessions, with the CEO and the Board requires both strategic thoughts and words. One bad showing at this level and hence, another example of the false positive.
If you have fallen under this unfortunate label, take heart. The good news is that you can do something about it. If you have the capacity to think strategically, you just have to learn to tell your story differently. And like all good stories, there should be an interesting plot and a compelling ending. Unlike most other stories, however, the key to telling a compelling strategic story is to begin at the end.
More specifically, good strategy looks “out and up.” It looks out over a time horizon and it looks up at the big picture. It describes an achievable future state that recognizes and exploits the changing dynamics in your markets and among your competitors.
Of course this strategy must be grounded in excellent analytics, and built on executable tactics. You just don’t want to begin your strategic discussions with the CEO or the Board there. Instead describe your “out and up” story first, then drill into the details. Emphasize the most important operational details that support your story and drill as deep as you must to respond to questions. Wrap-up your presentation by revisiting your “up and out” story.
If you make these adjustments to your strategic speaking style, you can and will become recognized as a more strategic thinker. Start now.