Strategic management seeks to coordinate and integrate the activities of the various functional areas of a business in order to achieve long-term organizational objectives.”. It stresses on making optimal strategic decisions. Strategic planning is a management by plans. Strategic Thinking vs. Strategic Planning? Strategic management is a management by results. Upon meeting new people, one of the first questions I am asked is often, “Where do you work?” or “What do you do?” This was the case a few nights ago, after being introduced to a colleague of a friend. What’s the Difference between Strategic Thinking and Strategic … “Strategic planning” is often used to refer to a programmatic, analytical thought process, and “strategic thinking” to refer to a creative, divergent thought process. In other words, about where you would like to be as an organization and how you get there, Dissecting strategic thinking versus strategic planning: Dynamic rather than static; Flexible rather than rigid 481 to 487, 1998 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. for Strategic Thinking Among the many tools a manager can use for strategic planning, scenario planning stands out for its ability to capture a whole range of possibilities in rich detail. It stresses on producing strategic results, new markets, new products, new technologies etc. A company needs to compete, it needs a strategy to compete. On the contrary, strategic management is an action-oriented activity. Your email address will not be published. He said he took a class on strategic management, but it didn’t apply to him because he wasn’t an executive. Strategic Thinking Skill Guide | Definition and Examples | Matter For over 20 years, Harvard ManageMentor® has set the standard for on-demand leadership development. Ultimately strategic thinking and analysis lead to a clear set of goals, plans, and new ideas required to survive and thrive in a competitive, changing environment. In today's environment rapid changes and technological explosion, almost all the management writers' emphasis on the need of updated and sophisticated techniques to outperform others or at least to survive. Strategic Thinking focuses the management team on markets that are most likely to succeed and so helps organizations avoid waste and costly mistakes. The strategic planning is an analytical activity because it is related to the thinking. Strategic thinking as integral to management-- The second difference is in the number of members. Where strategic management is a long-term plan for the future, Applied Strategic Thinking considers the future from the next few seconds to however long the concept will be relevant. Error: Please enter a valid email address, Error: Password and password confirmation do not match, Strategic Leadership Training and Development, Strategy Development Processes and Services, Leadership Development: Training & Workshops, Customized Leadership Development Programs, Supervisory Development and Training Programs, Large Group Learning Events & Key Note Speaking, Learning and Development Advisory Services, Professional Accreditation and Continuing Education Units, The 50 Most Socially-Shared Learning & Development Blogs, The 100 Best Leadership Blogs Based on Social Shares, The Top 50 Most Socially-Shared eLearning Blogs, Which Comes First Coaching or the Need for Coaching? So a strategic thinking janitor may discover that changing a product will be less expensive, more effective, or perhaps more environment friendly than the current product being purchased. On the contrary, strategic management is a series of decisions or moves taken by the top managers in relation to the formulation and execution of strategies to achieve organizational goals. Applied Strategic Thinking is a way of scanning your environment, finding ways to perform more efficiently, being more innovative, and reacting to outside challenges and opportunities with more confidence because you have already considered variables. Strategic management and strategic In the lesson, we'll look at how Paul did just this. 5. To achieve results in today's rapidly changing marketplace, project managers must dig out of the day-to-day minutia and break free from "how we've always done it" to spend more time While strategic planning focuses on making optimal strategic decisions, strategic management is all about producing strategic results, new markets, new products, new technologies etc. Notice that the main difference between these definitions is the timing. For our purposes, we will define planning as “the activity of preparing a plan” and we will define a plan as The confusion, however, stems from the fact that although there are frequent usages of the terms in the above ways, various authors still use these terms in fundamentally different ways. In other words, you can consider the best route around an accident or plan for your retirement and everything in between including your influence on the future of your organization. By asking the question "what if" followed by the critical question "if then," strategic thinking spans the analytical-intuitive chasm Mintzberg refers to in his definition of thinking as synthesis and planning as analysis. Both strategic management and strategic planning are keys to business success in any industry, but few know the difference between the two. As strategic thinking and strategic planning are often done in a group setting, it’s important to recognize the influence of “groupthink.” Groupthink occurs when there is a homogenous group of people with little influence from outside sources and a high level of pressure to conformity. Strategic management usually takes a team to determine the direction of an organization. one can and should find strategic thinking, planning, and management at all three levels. I explained to him that strategic thinking is not the same as strategic management. A strategy is more than a plan, as strategy implies competing -- outwitting competitors and providing unique value. 3, pp. When you subscribe to our blog and become a CMOE Insider. Strategic planning involves the identification of actions to be taken. While for some strategic thinking and planning are distinct thinking modes which are both useful at different stages of the strategic management process (e.g. Applied Strategic Thinking Strategic thinking includes careful and deliberate anticipation of threats and vulnerabilities to guard against and opportunities to pursue. A good strategic management online course will help you distinguish between these two in a more detailed manner. 4. Identifying actions to be taken, the individuals who will perform the actions, the right time to perform the action, the way to perform the action. Wikipedia explains, “Strategy is the art, science and craft of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-functional team management decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its long-term objectives. Part 3, Strategic Thinking is not Strategic Management. The Difference Let’s look at Strategic Management in general terms. Where strategic management is a long-term plan for the future, Applied Strategic Thinking considers the future from the next few seconds to however long the concept will be relevant. Strategic Thinking Vs Tactical Thinking - Change Management Tools - Strategy Management … Mintzberg), for others, strategic thinking is not so PII: 50024-6301(98)00069-7 Long Range Planning, Vol. The right strategy is one of the most effective tools, techniques and attributes for success in the personal and business life. Henry Mintzberg (1994), in his article, “The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning,” states that the label strategic planning should be dropped because strategic planning has impeded strategic thinking. By identifying basic trends and uncertainties, a manager can construct a … I gave a brief list of our services and explained that one of our most popular workshops is on strategic thinking. Strategic planning is a process (see above, RE: report that sits on a shelf), while strategic thinking is about vision, intuition, and creativity. As a cognitive activity, it produces thought.. 31, No. Difference between strategic thinking and strategic planning. Planning has been defined in various ways, ranging from thinking about the fu-ture to specifying in advance who is to do what when. Strategic Thinking at the Top - MIT Sloan Management Review Here you will learn what is strategic thinking and which are basic strategic thinking skills and examples. Purpose – The purpose of strategic thinking is to envision or develop a solution. Strategic Planning vs Strategic Management - Which one is Better When I explained that I work for CMOE, which provide leadership and employee development training, he asked me to tell him more about it. It is the process of specifying the organization’s mission, vision and objectives, developing policies and plans. As one of the best manager and leadership qualities, strategic thinking has a crucial role in every business and strategic planning process. We'll start with the definitions of the two kinds of strategic processes. Strategic Thinking Directs You to Managing Resources Effectively Most companies struggle with productivity and how to deal with limited resources of money, people and time. A future-oriented activity which tends to ascertain the organizational strategy and used to set priorities, is called strategic planning. In other words, you can consider the best route around an accident or plan for your retirement and everything in between including your influence on the future of your organization. Conversely, Strategic management involves identification actions to be taken, the individuals who will perform the actions, the right time to perform the action, the way to perform those action. . Strategic Management Privacy, Difference Between Strategy Formulation and Strategy Implementation, Difference Between Forecasting and Planning, Difference Between Management and Administration, Difference Between Strategic Planning and Operational Planning, Difference Between Tax Planning and Tax Management. Strategic thinking is defined as a mental or thinking process applied by an individual in the context of achieving a goal or set of goals in a game or other endeavor. .?”. Strategic thinking needs to be at the centre of the entire strategic management process, constantly re-evaluating, re-visiting and re-defining mental models of the business. Strategic Planning is a future oriented activity which tends to determine the organizational strategy and used to set priorities. Strategic thinking is hypothesis driven. Strategic thinking raises the capacity to be intelligently opportunistic. Difference Between Internal and External Stakeholders, Difference Between Policies and Procedures, Difference Between Micro and Macro Economics, Difference Between Developed Countries and Developing Countries, Difference Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research, Difference Between Percentage and Percentile, Difference Between Journalism and Mass Communication, Difference Between Internationalization and Globalization, Difference Between Sale and Hire Purchase, Difference Between Complaint and Grievance, Difference Between Free Trade and Fair Trade, Difference Between Partner and Designated Partner. Strategic thinking is something everyone, as individuals, can do. Strategic thinking has to do with finding alternative ways of competing and providing customer value. Difference Between Strategic Planning and Strategic Management … According to a 2009 Harvard Business Review article “Four Fatal Flaws of Strategic Planning,” 88 percent of companies engage in strategic planning, yet few adequately manage their strategies, and even fewer see their goals completely met. Paul, the CEO of a widget-producing company, wants his executives to improve the strategic process of his company and to understand the difference between strategic thinking and strategic planning. Strategic Management implies a bundle of decisions or moves taken in relation to the formulation and execution of strategies to achieve organizational goals. Creative vs Strategic thinking: What's the difference - Innovation … Strategic thinking means an individual looks at his/her environment, evaluates it, and then asks, “What would happen if . Strategic planning activity uses management by plans, whereas strategic management process uses management by results.