Here's how you can demonstrate your strategic thinking and sound business decision-making skills.

Strategists must invest their brains on the home domains and so must the companies hire strategists or growth consultants that have flourished in their domains. No matter how many process or methodologies one follows a good strategists will never know the nitty gritty of the essential but minute attributes. There is one hidden element behind applying a good strategy which is "honesty" : Suggest what you know Don't speak what you assume.

Analyzing data is akin to detective work where we're not just processing numbers but uncovering stories that shape strategic decisions. In my experience, approaching data with a mindset to identify patterns, anomalies, and correlations has proven essential in informing business strategies. One helpful practice is viewing data as more than figures; it's a source of insights that validate our decisions and ensure they are not mere guesses but informed choices backed by substantial evidence. This approach has consistently enhanced our strategic thinking and decision-making processes.

I nurture what I can from the strategic data and risk analysis in my organization by combining the statistics received from them and making quick decisions with a combination of numbers and business sense that I have gained over 40 years of experience. I give. Basically, in this method, I have the least deviation, which, of course, with the recruitment of young personnel, this conclusion is logical and more up-to-date than my way of thinking.

Leaders who are effective are leaders who are discipline in their daily life. No one achieves and sustains success without self-discipline. So if you want to lead effectively, choose to be more intentional and disciplined with what you do daily.

1. Thoroughly analyze market trends, competitor actions, & customer needs to understand the business landscape comprehensively. 2. Develop a clear, actionable vision & measurable goals that align with long-term business objectives. 3. Prioritize initiatives based on their potential impact & feasibility to ensure optimal resource allocation. 4. Foster cross-functional collaboration & communication to leverage diverse perspectives & drive continuous innovation. 5. Regularly evaluate outcomes using key performance metrics & feedback loops to refine strategies & quickly adapt to changing market conditions. By adhering to these steps, you effectively demonstrate a commitment to informed, strategic, & impactful business decision-making.

In my experience, clear and measurable goals are vital for aligning team efforts with the company's strategic vision. One thing I've found helpful is regularly revisiting these goals to adjust and communicate changes, ensuring our targets always support the overarching objectives and adapt to new challenges. This approach has proven essential in steering our projects towards success and growth.

Align goals with strategic objectives. Don't just set generic goals. Ensure your goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) and directly contribute to your organization's overall strategic objectives. Instead of a vague goal of "increase sales," you could set a SMART goal of "achieve a 15% year-over-year increase in online sales revenue within the next quarter by implementing a targeted social media marketing campaign focused on millennials." This goal is clear, measurable, achievable, relevant to your overall sales strategy, and time-bound.

Strategic thinking is synonymous with goal-setting. Define clear, achievable goals that support your organization's overarching objectives. Ensure these goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART). This framework helps set realistic targets and communicates your vision effectively. It demonstrates your ability to focus on what matters most, steering efforts toward growth and success.

Goals need not only to be achievable - they need to be ambitious. It's often a good thing to set mid term goals that will be shorter term goals into perspective and give the organsiation a sense of direction. Goals need to be cascaded to all levels of personnel involved in the organisation. Cascading goals throughout the organisation and gathering commitment in return is a powerful tool that will help you eliminate the most unforgivable waste in any organisation - The Knowledge and Intelligence of its people.

If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. Setting SMART goals are key to ensure we're setting realistic targets that are measurable. Having Time-bound targets ensure constant development, be it across your career, business, sport or personal goals. Setting goals give you a sense of achievement upon completion and steers your efforts in a direction that promotes growth and success.

When tasked with overseeing a crucial project launch, my detailed planning allowed us to anticipate and mitigate risks effectively. In my experience, meticulous preparation is essential. I've found that maintaining a clear, actionable checklist for each project phase ensures that all team members are aligned and can proactively manage their responsibilities. This approach not only streamlines execution but also enhances our capacity to handle unforeseen challenges, demonstrating our strategic depth and operational readiness.

Lors de l'obtention d'un projet, il est important de planifier les tâches de chacun, d'identifier les points de vigilance, de réunir l'ensemble des personnes impliquées pour leur expliquer le contexte, la mission, l'enjeu et l'objectif stratégique de l'entreprise. Le fait de planifier intelligemment les opérations pour chaque intervenant, permet de travailler sereinement, et non pas dans l'urgence. Chacun connaît sa mission et se sent impliqué et essentiel dans le bon déroulement du projet. Cela valorise la personne et la responsabilise à la fois. L'entreprise et les collaborateurs sont gagnants.

Le diagramme de Gantt est un outil très utile pour la planification d’un projet. Il vous permettra de fixer chaque tâche et le temps qu’il vous faudra lui allouer. Grace à des logiciels spécifiques vous pourrez partager votre diagramme avec vos équipes pour encore plus d’efficacité.

Make a Plan Make a thorough action plan that outlines the actions required to accomplish your objectives. Provide schedules, resource allocation, possible roadblocks, and ways for mitigating them. To stay ahead of the curve, anticipate market trends and possible obstacles.

Planning is the bridge between strategy and execution. Exhibit your strategic acumen by creating comprehensive plans outlining the steps needed to achieve your goals. This includes identifying necessary resources, setting clear timelines, and anticipating potential roadblocks. Effective planning shows that you are proactive rather than reactive, considering the implications of your decisions before taking action. By translating strategy into actionable steps, you demonstrate your ability to ensure successful execution and achieve your objectives. This approach solidifies your capability to drive growth and success.

Business is not a democracy but involving people in the evaluation and decision making process will help build trust and commitment. If people can see that decision making is done on sound principles they will be more confident that decisions are good ones.

The Decision Making consists of a set of actions where one or more leaders of an organization or group need to use the decision-making process to define the steps of a project or the organization as a whole. A leader must keep in mind that there is no right and wrong. What exist are assessments to be made based on the risks the company is going through. Therefore, at this moment, it is extremely important that an action plan is initiated with the purpose of obtaining alternatives for decision making.

My role requires me to make sound business decisions on a regular basis. Whether it’s deciding on the best approach for a project, choosing the right tools for a task, or resolving a complex issue, I rely on my analytical skills and industry knowledge to make informed decisions that drive success.

La prise de décision éclairée nécessite d’avoir des informations justes et fiables. Elle necessite aussi de savoir remettre en cause des croyances fortement ancrées. Une de ces croyances erronées est que vendre é dessous de son prix de revient fait perdre de l’argent. Ce qui est naturellement faux. Demandez à Easy si une place à 20€ est à son prix de revient et si elle leur fait perdre de l’argent. La méconnaissance des mécanismes de l’entreprise (je parle des 97% de TPE/PME) associée aux méthodes coefficientaires du XIIIeme siècle continuent d’engendre aujourd’hui les memes dysfonctionnement que ceux que connaissaient les dirigeants aux 19eme siècle. L’informatisation a simplement automatisé les erreurs de calculs. Rien d’autre.

Make Choices Examine all of the information and choices that are accessible. To make well-informed judgements, use techniques like risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). Pick the course of action with the greatest chance of success and the greatest alignment with your strategic objectives.

The clear communication is the basis for an effective exchange of information in the corporate environment. Conveying ideas, expectations and information in a concise and understandable way is essential to avoid misunderstandings and unnecessary conflicts.

Clear communication in business development is active listening. Actively listening to clients, team members, and stakeholders helps you understand their needs, concerns, and ideas. This not only builds trust and rapport but also ensures that your strategies and solutions are well-aligned with their expectations and requirements. Active listening can lead to more effective problem-solving and stronger, more productive relationships.

Communicate Clearly Communicate your objectives, strategies, and choices to all parties that have a stake in them, such as partners, investors, and staff. Make certain that everyone is aware of their duties and obligations. Keep the lines of communication open in order to give and receive feedback.

Clear communication is essential for strategic thinking and decision-making. Articulate your vision, plans, and reasoning in a way that is both understandable and compelling to stakeholders. Break down complex ideas into digestible parts and use persuasive language to align others with your perspective. By communicating effectively, you ensure that your strategies are not only heard but also embraced and implemented. This approach helps in garnering support and ensuring that everyone is on the same page, ultimately driving the successful execution of your plans.

Communication isn't a product, it's a process. Communication needs to be thought through and structured. It typically follows a cycle in line with the business: Discovery: The phase of analysis and exploration Analysyis and Planning Execution Follow up and support Leading back to More Discovery......

Think Back Often Review your goals' progress on a regular basis. Examine what is and is not working, and be ready to modify your tactics as necessary. You may maintain your flexibility and responsiveness to shifting circumstances by constantly reflecting.

Regular reflection is an important part of my professional growth. I take time to reflect on my performance, identifying areas of strength and areas for improvement. This self-reflection helps me to continually learn and grow in my role.

Strategic thinkers are reflective thinkers. To demonstrate this skill, make it a habit to regularly review your decisions and their outcomes. Reflect on what worked, what didn't, and why. This process of reflection is not about dwelling on the past but learning from it to refine your strategies moving forward. It shows that you're committed to continuous improvement and that you value learning as much as winning. This commitment to reflection and learning ensures that your strategies are always evolving and improving, driving sustained success.

Expand your perspective beyond day-to-day decisions and their immediate outcomes. Intentionally set aside time to reflect on your interactions with others—employees, peers, customers, vendors, etc. Make a list of your most impactful positive contributions to them. Challenge yourself to grow this list, going both wide and deep.

Leverage AI and other advanced technologies to enhance your strategic thinking and decision-making processes. AI-powered tools can provide predictive analytics, identify patterns, and suggest optimal solutions. Stay informed about the latest technological advancements and integrate them into your strategic toolkit. Engage with the LinkedIn community to share your experiences, gain new perspectives, and learn from other professionals. Demonstrating strategic thinking and sound business decision-making skills involves a combination of data analysis, goal-setting, planning, decisive action, clear communication, and regular reflection.

The most important thing that I have learned and improved on is listening. Listen to your employees, your customers, and your competitors. Identify their needs and align them with your goals. Their needs may also cause you to pivot a goal or add new goals. Once you have created your goals, do not be afraid to add more at any time. I use a strategic plan like a set of train tracks. The tracks keep me inline and allow me to meet goals, add goals, or pivot goals along the journey.

Everything from making decisions, planning, communication, etc is by definition leadership or being a leader. However, what truly defines what leadership is, encompasses all of those things but combining it with being genuine, empathetic, motivating, and above all honest with those that you may be entrusted with leading. Some of the best leaders or coaches I have been around weren’t always the best at planning, decisions, or communication 100% of the time but their genuine spirit and desire to motivate could make up for those lapses.

I'll share an example of reflective thinking in action. At FeedConstruct, we faced a setback when our initial marketing strategy didn't deliver expected results. Instead of pressing on blindly, we reviewed our approach, analyzing data and gathering feedback. This reflection revealed the need for a more targeted campaign and better resource allocation. By adjusting our strategy, focusing on specific customer segments, and optimizing marketing channels, we saw a significant increase in engagement and conversions. This experience highlighted the importance of learning from setbacks and continuously refining strategies for long-term success.

One of the other key things in strategic decision making is to evaluate internal capabilities including people, process, systems & shared values map against external environment and then take the calls.