Key ingredient...communication

We've been talking about Strategic Thinking and looking at some ideas to increase your strategic thinking abilities. Oftentimes, this type of thinking is not a common practice, but fear not - it can easily be implemented and incorporated into your daily thinking and into your company.

But the shift in thinking is just the beginning! Imagine what could happen if you instilled and empowered the REST of your company to also be strategic thinkers. You would create a priceless army of change agents who were also seeking to impact the future of your company and the well-being of your clients. To borrow a quote from "What Women Want" - Darcy [Helen Hunt] enters into the board room and says "I know two heads are better than one, five are better than two." Give your staff the ability, resources, tools, and permission to be a part of creating a better company!

But...let's say that you're not ready to take that giant leap, but your leadership team is managing the heavy lifting of strategic thinking and making the decisions. Once those decisions are made, it is vital that you communicate the decision, reasoning, and most important HOW these affect the future of your company and your clients to the rest of the staff.

Stone archways have always fascinated me and the reason is for the most important stone at the top center - the Keystone. This stone is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. In my opinion, Strategic Thinking also has a Keystone...it's communication.

Although communication is not OUR final piece of the construction - we still have implementation and measurement, communication is the Keystone of success in your company and provides so much benefit for relatively little cost. Communication keeps all the other "stones" or pieces of the strategy, which came out of the strategic thinking, to be held in place and allows this decision to bear weight.

How do you expect your employees to feel a part of the team; be part of the solution; and keep the customer's best interest in focus if you don't share with them the big vision and how this decision plays into that Vision and Mission? I've yet to find a company where osmosis is prevalent, so take the easier, more productive road and choose to communicate effectively with your team! It will save you time, stress, and money in the future!