Author: George Liacos
How to think more strategically: Balancing Long and Short Term: Example (Part 2)
There is a way you can think more strategically – it is about taking action to think strategically… but how?
We build our strategic thinking muscle using a range of techniques and tools as outlined in my book Spark Change.
The fifteenth Spark I’d like to introduce you to is Balancing Long and Short Term. Let’s share with you an example.
How to think more strategically: what we do
To balance short and long-term thinking in my strategic approach, I take the following specific steps (much of this is the work you would do in developing an outcomes framework, adapted to your strategic thinking):
- Clearly define long-term objectives and impact: The former is about what you will create, the latter is about the meta social impact you will contribute to. For example, ending avoidable blindness will deliver social and economic benefit.
- Work backwards: Plot a pathway from long to short that does two things. First, it develops the runway of initiatives to deliver the long-term outcome. Second, it drops into the thinking specific actions needed in each period, based on what we expect to happen in that period.
- Sense check: Do you have the resources, capability and capacity to deliver this dual track?
- Maintain transparent communication: Keep all stakeholders informed about the dual-focus approach, clarifying how short-term achievements lay the groundwork for long-term success.
- Be adaptable in tactics: Stay flexible, ready to recalibrate short-term actions to stay aligned with your long-term vision.
- Foster dual-focused culture: Encourage a team mindset that values immediate results while keeping an eye on future opportunities and challenges.
Following these steps ensures a holistic strategic approach, which effectively manages immediate needs while steadily working towards long-term aspirations.
How to think more strategically: examples
How can one cultivate this dexterity in strategic thinking? Try these methods:
- Immersive role-playing games (RPGs): This might appear left-of-field, but consider the mechanics of a complex RPG like ‘Dungeons & Dragons’. Players must make decisions that serve their immediate needs while also plotting a course for future success. Participating in such games sharpens one’s ability to weigh the immediate against the future, making choices in the present that set up for long-term strategy.
- Future backwards technique: This method, initially from the Cynefin framework, encourages participants to imagine a worst-case future scenario and then work backwards to the present, identifying decisions and pivot points that led to that outcome. By then reversing the process to envision the path to an ideal future, you cultivate a dual perspective on short- and long-term effects.
- Time-capsule exercise: Create a time capsule for your organisation or personal goals. What would you want to tell your future self or future stakeholders? This exercise forces a tangible confrontation with the future, compelling you to consider what short-term actions will have long-standing ramifications.
- 10/10/10 rule exploration: Introduced by Suzy Welch, this rule asks you to consider the consequences of a decision ten minutes, ten months and ten years from now. By forcing yourself into these different temporal headspaces, you can more effectively weigh the immediate versus the distant implications of a choice.
- Engaging with futurists’ media: Consume podcasts, blogs or seminars from futurists like Amy Webb or Jane McGonigal. These experts grapple with forecasting and its implications, and their speculative methods can offer fresh techniques for balancing immediate needs with future contingencies.
- Scarcity simulations: Engage in exercises or simulations where resources (like time or money) are intentionally limited. This scarcity forces prioritisation, making it necessary to choose actions that serve both immediate survival and future growth.
By employing these tools, one not only grasps the theory behind balancing the immediate and the eventual, but also develops an instinctive feel for it. After all, in the rapidly evolving landscapes of today’s challenges, sometimes it’s that instinct, that gut feel honed by diverse experiences, that guides us most effectively.
Resources & Support
This is why I wrote the book Spark Change, developed the Strategic Thinking Masterclass, and have released The Spark Strategic Leader ™ Subscription Program – all to help our sector’s leaders build the strategic thinking muscle.
Contact us at info@sparkstrategy.com.au to find out more.
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