We explain what strategic thinking is in the business world, its function, objectives and the capabilities it requires.
What is strategic thinking?
In the business and administrative world, it is known as strategic thinking of management, or simply strategic thinking, to a form of planning or planning that pursues the fulfillment of the goals of the organization, through the provision of resources and the use of ideas and opportunities to create a competitive advantage over the environment.
This means that strategic thinking is one that, individually or collaboratively, pursues the success creatively, methodically, highly competitive, like someone who designs a strategy to win in a game.
This type of thinking starts from an overview of the means available, in order to contemplate the possible outcomes of the different paths to be undertaken. Thus it is possible to carry out a decision making efficient, daring and oriented towards success.
It is not, clearly, an infallible way of thinking, far from it, but "a mental process, both abstract and rational, which must be capable of synthesizing psychological and material data", as defined by the French general Andre Beaufre (1902-1975).
For this it is necessary:
- Analysis capacity: It allows gathering the information that allows a diagnosis to be made.
- Synthesis capacity: It allows, from the analysis, to produce the diagnosis and choose a course of action among all the possible ones.
In fact, strategic thinking is key in the military world. Just as an army designs plans (strategies) to gain a combat advantage over its opponent, organizations can resort to strategic thinking to overcome future obstacles and thus guarantee the best possible results in the face of uncertainty.
Of course, the very notion of strategic thinking is difficult to summarize or exemplify, since it is first and foremost a way of anticipating the future, entirely dependent on context.
However, many thinkers from different fields, from the Italian political thinker Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) to scholars of modern administration such as the American Jeanne Liedtka (1955-), wrote long treatises on the correct way to approach strategies and strategies. ways to plan the increase in a way that focuses on making the most of opportunities.
In short, strategic thinking is one that proposes establishing strategies: anticipating future events and having possible answers for each feasible scenario, so as not to be forced to improvise.