The Under-Rated Power of taking the time to THINK

The cliché that so many business executives seem to believe goes to the core of how we operate a business successfully. It goes something like, "To get something done, you must act." It is hard to disagree with that statement when we know that strategy only matters when implemented, and most people resist change. However, the approach gets distorted and translated into "if you are not doing something, then you are doing nothing." The general management model has been to view not doing something right now as a waste of time.

This drive to be 'doing' permeates its way into the Senior and Executive leadership teams I work with consistently. Executive calendars are crammed full of meetings, trips, and more meetings. There is a constant buzz that MUST be addressed immediately. Look at the daily calendar of most executives, and it is FULL!

Strategy Design: One of the most important jobs of these leaders and their teams get relegated to an annual two-day retreat (if you are lucky) that is more about reviewing last year and bonding than it is about the real work of an executive.

It is long past time for the Executive and Senior leadership team members to take the time to 'THINK' about their business. Whether this has to be scheduled into the calendar (a flawed system) or made a regular part of the week, the effort may be the single best thing you can do for your organization.

There is a big difference between thinking about an organization's strategy or part of an organization and just wasting time. While everyone 'thinks' a bit differently, there is an approach to make it more productive.

1. Structure your mental effort around a compelling issue – don't try to take on the whole organization at once. Has there been a drop in traffic at one of your locations? Has a competitor changed their approach to the market? Are the things that differentiated your operation last year still compelling? What do you think the business issues will be for your organization three years from now?

2. Use your computer/tablet/paper to free associate the issue with:

   1. What appears to be the cause/causes? Are there underlying issues that are masking the cause?

   2. What is preventing it from being dealt with effectively? Why has it not been addressed? Are employees taking the actions that you directed?

   3. DON'T try to solve it … Not Yet!

3. Does it impact your ability to make a sale or a repeat sale (in other words – do customers even care? Or will they care in the future?)

4. What is happening with your competitors? (I'm perennially stunned with how little knowledge some executives have about their competitors)

5. What are a set of 'solutions' that you believe could impact this issue? Under what circumstances might each be most appropriate?

6. More than anything, with these efforts, you need to remember that any solution you implement is simply a 'HYPOTHESIS' – that is, you 'believe' it will work.

Far too little time is spent each day 'Thinking about your business' and yet we hire/fire managers because of their ability to lead. Let's insist that a regular part of the JOB of an executive is to think about and craft the strategy of the business.