The big “What if?” in Strategic®

How I experience Strategic®

I see my top 4 talent themes like an ice cream sandwich:

I understand that all things are connected and purposeful…

For the tons of ideas I get…

That I can think on, sort the best, toss the rest…

And see the patterns of ideas align to the best route forward.

In my professional career I added Design Thinking and methodology discipline to these core innate talents for a career in Enterprise Architecture. Now I work with companies on innovation asking the same question I have asked all of my working life - What if?

Innovation for many creates an unbearable chaos and the path through the maze of change can have more traps than an Indiana Jones movie. Another part of

Strategic® for me is the ability to see obstacles in the future, to peer along the several paths spread out and show the ones that are straight, or indirect but a bit faster. The key to leading changes in “what we’ve always done” (you should write this down) is helping the resistant few think it was their idea in the first place.

Strategic®, like Ideation®, can fail you if you run forward too fast. Inertia is a powerful force. A cloud of ideas and future scenarios can seem like a bulldozer ripping through your childhood home. To sweeten this ice cream sandwich, I call deeply on Empathy®, because I understand that some people will be slow to move, and some will not make the change at all. 

I wish I could give out the gift of strategic thinking, but I can’t. So here is what it looks like, a set of scenarios. My favorite tools are the “Business Model Canvas” (StrategyzerAG) and “Lean Canvas” (LEANStack). These tools allow me to show the people I work with a single sheet that can show key forces in a strategy. In a brief period I can teach the language of a canvas and encourage participation. That participation is critical to winning support. If people have a voice in change, they regain a sense of control. That sense of control makes the future less daunting.

There is one more thing that my Strategic® theme does for me, it gives me an urgency for action. I lead with Strategic Thinking and my supporting Themes are Relationship Building. I have no Executing Themes until number 12 or 13 on my list (they are in rank order). Belief is there and if I catch an idea I believe in, I’m really all in. On a daily basis I use Strategic® to see the future path, decide quickly and march forward.

Note: The 34 CliftonStrengths® Theme names are Trademarks of Gallup® Inc.

The non-Gallup information you are receiving has not been approved and is not sanctioned or endorsed by Gallup in any way. Opinions, views and interpretations of CliftonStrengths or BP10 results are solely the beliefs of David Jackson.