Articol de: Author: Elena Badea, Managing Partner, Valoria Business Solutions
Entrepreneurs are constantly learning. They develop themselves with every challenge they overcome or with every opportunity they manage to capitalize on. If many of the start-up entrepreneurs are particularly concerned about the operational side of the business, the most advanced often ask themselves: how can I develop my strategic thinking?
„The winners first win the war and only then go to the battlefield. The first losers go to the battlefield and only then seek to win the war. „Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Starting from what Sun Tzu says in The Art of War, strategic thinking is the quality that makes the entrepreneur able to win the war first and only then go on the battlefield. But what are the five most important attributes that need to be developed to drive entrepreneurs towards this strategic thinking?
- The ability to think creatively. This ability makes the entrepreneur always come up with new thoughts and ideas. Imagination, creative thought requires time, mental space and risk tolerance, because what we are looking for is more than a small change from what we are doing today. Strategic thinking does not refer to changing form but to challenging the fund. Unfortunately, the system in which we are educated manages to significantly reduce this natural ability. That’s why entrepreneurs need to resume thinking creatively and build the environment in which their team does the same thing.
- The ability to have a broad perspective. This ability implies, in fact, two behaviors from the entrepreneur. One is to invite as many as diverse perspectives as possible. The second behavior is to look at the strategy from a broader perspective. The entrepreneur must be able to look at the elements of the strategy, both interior and exterior, as they are flying (imaginary) through a 3D model of it. These two behaviors should be complemented by a transformative and participatory leadership style.
- The ability to have a systemic approach. This capacity allows the contractor to build the plane as it leads to the destination. Systemic thinking is integrative and brings with it the understanding of interdependencies. This is exactly the opposite of prioritization, which requires reductive thinking and eliminatory thinking. Strategic thinking is complex and requires at the same time agility and precision, consistency and change, control and chaos. It is good for entrepreneurs to develop in this respect and do it very well.
- The ability to work with partial information. Not only entrepreneurs, but also top managers have the ability to work with items they do not have control over. It is a useful ability to deal with incomplete information while retaining the ability to advance projects. This attribute has much to do with the ability to manage the risks. Beyond experience and competence, this ability also involves intuition, which is an important attribute of visionary leaders.
- The ability to retain the desire to succeed. Successful entrepreneurs have this desire to succeed. This is an attitude resulting from the inner conviction that entrepreneurship is the only way for them, that success is possible and that all they have to do is find the way to succeed. This is also about a motivation stemming from the entrepreneur’s personal values, combined with the ability to pass it on to the team.
Strategy means vision, competence, ability to analyze scenarios, plan and even be patient. The artists who take the entrepreneur from the „operational fire” and bring it to the path of strategic thinking can train. The necessary and sufficient condition is for the entrepreneur to become aware of this aspect and to pass it on the „roadmap” to success.
About the author
Elena Badea is the Founder and Managing Partner of Valoria Business Solutions consulting company. Previously, for 15 years, Elena Badea was Director of Business Development and then Director of Marketing of an international company operating in Romania. She has extensive experience in business development, account management, corporate marketing, operational and digital marketing. She coordinated 45 research on the domestic business environment and entrepreneurship in Romania and was involved in training and coaching for managers and businessmen, but also in social responsibility projects and education. Elena publishes frequently articles and point of views and is invited as a speaker at numerous national conferences on current topics of marketing and business development.
Read also “Differences” between decision-makers in Romanian companies
Photo: Geralt/Pixabay
