Strategic Thinking

 Make Time for Strategy Checklist One of the biggest challenges professionals face is carving out time for strategic thinking amidst the hurlyburly of daily work obligations. Here’s a checklist of questions to help you do it.

 Common Inputs 

You’ll notice for many of the processes that the following items will be common inputs. It’s important to be familiar with them, as you’ll see them over and over again in the material we’re covering.

1. How frequently do you listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks?

2. Under what circumstances do you listen (such as driving to work, at the gym, or while washing dishes)?

3. Is there at least one 15-minute period where you can regularly turn it off in order to think about big picture strategy, instead? What time during your workweek is least busy (for instance, Friday afternoons)?

4.  Can you try a two-week experiment where you block out one hour per week in your calendar during this time, for strategic thinking? Try it, and if you like the results, make it a habit. Do you have friends who are also interested in improving their strategic thinking?

5. If so, can you reach out and ask if they’d like to trade ideas, or become accountability partners? Raise the prospect, and see how they respond