Spark 13 – How to think more strategically: Critical Thinking: Example

To embed critical thinking into your strategic thinking capability, follow these steps:

1. Foster a questioning mindset: Encourage yourself and your team to consistently question assumptions and existing beliefs. This starts with cultivating a culture where enquiry is valued.
2. Gather diverse information: Actively seek varied sources of information to ensure a well-rounded understanding of the issues at hand. This involves looking beyond familiar channels to gather diverse perspectives.
3. Analyse information objectively: Critically evaluate the information gathered. This includes assessing the credibility of sources, analysing data for biases and understanding the limitations of your knowledge.
4. Encourage debate and discussion: Create forums for open discussion where different viewpoints can be debated. This helps in challenging perspectives and uncovering hidden assumptions.
5. Develop logical reasoning skills: Regularly practice and apply logical reasoning in your decision-making process, ensuring conclusions are well founded.
6. Reflect and refine: Post-decision, reflect on the thinking process and outcomes. Identify areas for improvement in your critical thinking approach.
7. Continuous learning and development: Commit to ongoing learning and development in critical thinking skills, keeping abreast of new methods and approaches.

By systematically integrating these steps into your strategic planning process, you ensure decisions are not just intuitive but also backed by rigorous, critical thinking, essential for robust and effective strategies.

How to think more strategically: sharpen this skill

For those intrigued by the profound influence of critical thinking on strategy, there are several psychological tools that can be harnessed to sharpen this skill:

• Socratic questioning: This involves asking open-ended questions that challenge assumptions and promote deeper understanding.

• The five whys: A technique that involves asking ‘Why?’ five times in succession to uncover the root cause of a problem.

• Pre-mortems: Before launching any project or strategy, engage in a cognitive exercise to predict what could go wrong, and plan accordingly.

• Decision frameworks: Utilise models like SWOT, PESTLE, or even custom frameworks to dissect challenges from multiple angles.

• Reflect and adapt: Post-implementation, set aside time to examine what worked, what didn’t and why, to inform future strategies.

As the renowned philosopher Confucius noted, ‘Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.’ This encapsulates the spirit of critical thinking. To think critically is to acknowledge what we don’t know and to be driven by a relentless pursuit of truth, clarity and understanding.