Strategic Thinking questions to ask

The key to Strategic Thinking is to ask questions...but they must be the RIGHT questions. Here are a few to help get you on the right path...

As a general rule of thumb, good Strategic Thinkers keep these two points at the forefront:

• Identify issues that are critical to the long-term success  
• Ask questions whose answers will help to anticipate the future needs of their clients and programs

With these two general guidelines, here are 10 Questions to get you started:

1. Is my program/service/widget doing/offering the right things?
2. When you envision your business in three years - what does it look like and what will it take to get it there?
3. Identify NEW groups of clients, NEW service delivery approach, or NEW ways to attract clients.
4. What do you foresee as the possible future in your industry and potential options that you may be able to address through your business's product or service? 
5. How do these ideas and decisions tie in with your company's mission, vision, and goals?
6. How can you use existing resources to better meet goals and strategies or re-align them for NEW opportunities?
7. What is the big picture and what is the relationship of different elements to one another?
8. When evaluating NEW opportunities...a) identify various options, , b) weigh advantages & disadvantages of each, c) select the best option, and d) write 10 strategies to accomplish that option.
9. What are your company's primary target group(s), AND what are their special characteristics?
10. Determine how to monitor and measure success around the option.