What do you think of when you hear the word strategy? For many managers, the word “strategy” means giant PowerPoint slides and dusty three-ring binders. Great strategies don’t come from Excel spreadsheets or PowerPoint. Great strategy comes from great strategists.
The word innovation is most often associated with cool new technologies that change the world. There are more than ten types of innovations for you to take advantage of. Innovation is the creation of new value; strategy is the allocation of resources in unique ways to develop and deliver that value. Unfortunately, only 25% of managers believe their company is good at strategy and innovation.
Too often, strategy and innovation are treated separately, even though they share a common foundation of insights. The skill required to generate insights is strategic thinking. By becoming elite strategic thinkers, leaders can better combine strategy and innovation to create competitive advantage.
Ascension means to rise, or to a higher level of intelligence. Today, you need to be able to quickly move your thinking from the business tactical weeds to a higher level. Lift enables you to stop being reactive, avoid fire drills, and expand your perspective to see how the key parts of your business fit together to deliver superior value to your customers.
What follows is a simple framework called the three disciplines of advanced Strategic thinking:
merge: Integrate insights to create innovative business models.
compete: Create strategic systems to achieve competitive advantage.
champion: Guide others to think and act strategically to execute strategy.
When your career comes to an end, how will you be remembered – as a real person strategy Leader or Tactical Firefighter? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not about the small stuff. It’s about how you set strategic direction and shape the trajectory of a team…a business…a company…a career. It’s about seeing beyond conflict and seeing things others can’t. You can achieve this if you’re willing to…level up.
