Strategic Thinking Snippets - Direction and Change

Here's another installment in Strategic Thinking Snippets - ideas first shared on Twitter and now collected and arranged for Brainzooming. This Strategic Thinking Snippet installment focused on identifying strategic direction and managing through change.

• A lot of effort gets spent solving wrong problems. Important Safety Tip: Invest the time to figure out the right thing to fix.
• If you don't start with questions, it's really easy to solve the wrong problem. Go ahead...ask questions.
• Without a strategic foundation, even bad ideas can masquerade as great ones. Don't skip the strategy step.
• Being able to recall past patterns is key to strategic thinking, no matter how you're able to recall them.
• As important as recall is for strategic thinking, looking at things anew is vital also. Together, they're transforming.
• Be careful of "never" & "always" statements. The real frequency is "almost always" between these 2 extremes.
• Sometimes you need a mini-crisis to drive change. Know how to create one, if necessary.
• Force yourself to put things you think are really good in new settings. You'll find many new ways to improve them!
• Get comfortable with the intriguing twists life takes that you could never anticipate. Simply enjoy them!

Strategic Thinking Snippets - Implementation

Here are a few strategic thinking snippets on implementation. Yes, thinking does need to turn into actions and results:

• On things that don't really matter, it's okay to conserve your effort & take the easy way out.
  
• On something that DOES matter, do it when you're ready to do it well. Don't just fit it in when you'll do it half-way (or worse).
  
• When others are timid and worried about what the right next step is, decide to BE BOLD!
  
• Attitude Check Question: Are you looking for and sharing good news with those around you? Please start....now!
  
• Embrace the power of symbolism in communication. Not everything has to be literal.
  
• Don't ever let an opportunity slip away through failing to go back & ask for it one more time.
  
• Keep ideas with great potential around even if you don't use them now. They may be ideally suited for a future situation. - Mike Brown

Strategic Thinking Snippets - Collaboration

There are various sketchbooks in our home office loaded with ideas. Sometimes a good thought doesn't fill up a whole blog post right away, but it offers enough possibilities to work well on Twitter. This is the debut of a new feature offering collections of strategic thinking ideas tweeted first, but then grouped and arranged to make them more digestable.

This first group touches on strategic collaboration, a fitting topic since upcoming posts on Wednesday and Thursday are both from people I've met over the past few weeks on Twitter.
Collaboration

• Don't always answer a question for someone who already "knows" the answer. Let them own the answer.
• Take risks on determined people. Even when falling short, their tenacity will create something rewarding.
• Seek help. Don't try to understand or do everything yourself. There are people better prepared than you. Let them do what they know.
• Get input early from a boss that has an informed perspective. You'll benefit from doing so.
• Ask questions of experts. Chart their answers for agreement/disagreement. Pray. Then make your best decision.
• Ask someone completely new for help with a challenge. You'll appreciate the different perspective. They'll like helping.
• Go out of your way to (at least informally) mentor those eager to learn & grow.

Please let me know your thoughts on this new feature in the comments section!