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Building Leadership Skills:
Strategic ThinkingAn Infopeople Workshop
George Needham and Joan Frye Williams, Instructors
Spring 2009
Today’s agendaLeadership and strategic thinkingThe long viewThe FAST approach to strategic thinkingMoving ahead
1. Know what difference you want to make
2. Choose your actions accordingly
What’s their strategy?
vs.
vs.
Why think strategically?Save time and effortMake the most of limited resourcesAttract fundingGet people on boardEnhance chances of successIncrease job satisfaction
Why think strategically?Save time and effortMake the most of limited resourcesAttract fundingGet people on boardEnhance chances of successIncrease job satisfactionTry to take over the world!
What difference do you want to make?Your communityYour libraryYour team/work groupPersonally/professionally
The long view
Target, not detailed steps
Principles, not techniques
Strengths, not weaknesses
Keep it simple
“Vision” implies that other people can PICTURE what you’re
talking about.
Leveraging your assets
Starts with appreciationVision-led,
not problem-drivenConcentrates on
abundant resources
Strategic positioning:Five approaches that work
From exception to mainstream
Bottom lineLess gate-keeping,
more convenience
From altruism to return on investment
Bottom lineLess perfectionism, more efficiency
From a focus on the past to a focus on the future
What kinds of changes do you think will affect your community in the future?
Bottom lineLess caution, more flexibility
From frill to necessity
Bottom lineLess reticence, more urgency
From information to transformation
Think of a favorite book, movie, play, poem, or piece of music…
What is it?Why is it important
to you?How has that
affected your life?
Bottom lineRelationships trump transactions
Think FASTFocusAccelerateSupportTie it all together
Adapted from Hagel, John et al ,“Shaping Strategy in a World of Constant Disruption,” Harvard Business Review , October 2008.
FocusUse real data/evidenceLook for patternsAsk “what if”Estimate likelihood Imagine consequences
AccelerateIdentify actions that will move you toward
your target most quicklyUse resources you already haveDecide how you’ll measure progress
SupportSupport
Who else wants to see the same kind of difference you do?Community segments
and stakeholdersElected officials,
power brokersOther providers who
share your audienceFriends and
colleagues
Discovering common ground
Maintaining strategic relationships
Tie it all together
Constantly check near term performance against target
Adjust as you go alongRepeat as necessary
Uncovering strategic opportunities
Evaluating strategic opportunities
Will it show?Can it grow?Does it flow?
Evaluate your choices: show
Evaluate your choices:
grow
Evaluate your choices: flow
Tell a compelling story
Ideas have to fit the audience’s values
Person telling the story has to be believableIntegrityCommitment
Understand that objections are…Normal, and…Less threatening than
risking failure on something new, but…
Not insurmountable
Handling objections
Show the passion!
