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Gary Hamel, Fred Wiersema, and Vijay Govindarajan) in vogue who create new words or concepts
(values disciplines, strategic intent or destination, value migration, co-evolution, market oligarchy,
core capabilities, strategic horizon) to describe strategic thinking. If you don’t use those words, then
others won’t know you’re being strategic. New words can be found in books by these gurus, in the
Harvard Business Review, and in Strategy and Leadership—a publication of the Strategic Leadership
Forum. And, yes, most of the words are bigger words for things we used to call something else with
smaller words. Nevertheless, if you want to be seen as more strategic, you have to talk more
strategically. Every discipline has its lexicon. In order to be a member, you have to speak the code.

2. Rejecting strategy? Recognize the value of strategic planning. There are people who reject
strategic formulation as so much folly. They have never seen a five-year strategic plan actually
happen as projected. They think the time they use to create and present strategic plans is wasted.
They think it’s where the rubber meets the sky. While it’s true that most strategic plans never work out
as planned, that doesn’t mean that it was a wasted effort. Strategic plans lead to choices about
resources and deployment. They lead to different staffing actions and different financial plans.
Without some strategic planning, it would be a total shot in the dark. Most failed companies got buried
strategically. They picked the wrong direction or too many directions. Not being able to produce a
quality product or service today is generally not the problem.

3. Don’t think about the future? Be curious and imaginative. Many managers are so wrapped up in
today’s problems that they aren’t curious about tomorrow. They really don’t care about the future.
They believe there won’t be much of a future until we perform today. Being a visionary and a good
strategist requires curiosity and imagination. It requires playing “what ifs.” What are the implications of
the growing gap between rich and poor? The collapse of retail pricing? The increasing influence of
brand names? What if it turns out that there is life on other planets and we get the first message?
What will that change? Will they need our products? What will happen when a larger percentage of
the world’s population is over the age of 65? The effects of terrorism? What if cancer is cured? Heart
disease? AIDS? Obesity? What if the government outlaws or severely regulates some aspect of your
business? True, nobody knows the answers, but good strategists know the questions. Work at
developing broader interests outside your business. Subscribe to different magazines, pick new
shows to watch, meet different people, join a new organization. Look under some rocks. Think about
tomorrow. Talk to others about what they think the future will bring.

4. Narrow perspective? Broaden your perspective. Some people are sharply focused on what they
do and do it very well. They have prepared themselves for a narrow but satisfying career. Then
someone tells them their job has changed and they now have to be strategic. Being strategic requires
a broad perspective. In addition to knowing one thing well, it requires that you know about a lot of
things somewhat. You need to understand business. You need to understand markets. You need to
understand how the world operates. You need to put all that together and figure out what it means to
your organization. And then you have to create a strategy.

5. Too busy? Delegate the tactical and make time for strategy. Strategy is always last on the list.
Solving today’s problems, of which there are many, is job one. You have to make time for strategy. A
good strategy releases future time because it makes choices clear and leads to less wasted effort,
but it takes time. Delegation is usually the key. Give away as much tactical, day-to-day stuff as you
can. Ask your people what they think they could do to give you more time for strategic reflection.
Another key is better time management. Put an hour a week on your calendar for strategic reading
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