The time for strategic thinking is now!
The original idea of strategy had nothing to do with business, binders, or executives. Rather, its roots are ancient and militarily founded. The great military minds collect intelligence and use that data to make decisions about how to deploy resources. It’s easy to see how that definition translates to business. Strategy is really nothing more than making advance decisions about how to deploy essential resources. Sound like something you should be doing right now? I bet it does.
Question: Would you describe strategic thinking as analytical or visionary thinking?
Got your answer?
What if I tell you that it is both?
Surprised?
Actually, in agriculture overall, we trend toward being short on natural strategic thinkers! This opinion is entirely my own, stemming from observations after conducting thousands of assessments in the last decade. Whether on the farm or in the board room, I have found that a large majority of thinking in agriculture exists more in the executing realm and less in the strategic domain. Experience demonstrates that even the most highly successful businesses of today are still more accustomed to executing what they already know how to do rather than pausing to consider and then implement a strategy that ensures the operation’s future growth and success.
Suddenly, we are forced out of business as usual. We’ve been forced out of doing only what we know. You may need a need strategy, so don’t delay. I’ve got a couple of simple resources for you to get started. First, consider these questions–they are basic enough, yes, but if your answers to some of these are different than they were before March of this year, it’s time to rebuild your strategy.
Four Elements of Strategy
- What is our organization’s vision and the theory on which we operate?
- What do we do? Or, what part of this market do we want to be in to deliver on what we do?
- How do we do it? What actions, adaptations, and models do we create to be successful?
- What capabilities do we need in order to implement what we do, such as skills of team, new or updated resources, and new or ongoing training for our people?
Below this, I’ve include a tool I use with organizations of all kinds called Your Strategic Plan on a Page in One Hour Or Less. Take a look and consider using this on your own (set aside an hour!) or with your next Zoom team meeting. If you’d like to hear me describe how to use this tool live, join my live training on Thursday, April 16th in the Farm Next Facebook group.
ACT Like A Pro Out There!
Sarah Beth Aubrey
Click either page to download the PDF:
