Strategic thinking: description, basic models, ways of development

Any successful person must plan their actions. This is the only way you can guarantee yourself and your loved ones a wonderful future. In order for everything to work out, it is necessary to study the issue of the formation of strategic thinking.

Strategic thinking is predicting different situations. This term implies the creation of business projects and the planning of life situations that can lead to further successful existence. When a person has strategic thinking, he can be aware of the tasks that stand in his way. In this case, mental manipulations resemble some kind of board game, where all the rules and moves are spelled out in advance. The playing person moves along a certain route.

If a person has already drawn up his individual strategic plan, then he will also act in the same way as in a certain game, that is, according to its rules. Namely, it will move along a given route. Programmed actions provide a guarantee of success. In psychology, strategic thinking is considered to be a cognitive ability that allows you to perform complex tasks. Thanks to the chain of thought, a person can understand what will happen to him next if he makes this or that decision. Therefore, this type of thinking is very necessary for those who consider themselves a strategist, as well as those who are associated with the study of sciences.

If we talk further, it should be noted that in psychology it is customary to rely on skills. Strategy is a skill that develops over the years. It is important to designate specific task, and not be content with abstract actions.

The word "strategy" comes from the ancient Greek language. Initially, it was associated exclusively with military operations. Over the course of time, this word came into use and began to denote a way to achieve a goal. Only analytical difficulties make the human mind develop. That's why this type of thinking is directly related to high intelligence, which provides 4 types of basic models of strategic thinking. Let's consider them in order.

In this case, the ability to be in society is of great importance. A person should control his behavior, namely, not behave defiantly and always try to establish relationships with others. It is necessary to be able to maintain a correct conversation, to perceive fair criticism in your address.... In addition, the human strategist is constantly learning. Therefore, he knows how to praise and criticize his interlocutors in the right way, so as not to offend anyone. He never speaks out in a harsh form against opponents and hides his negative opinion about someone in his mind. If a person behaves differently, then he can turn the whole world against himself.

For example, to achieve the end result, all methods are good. Sometimes, in order to find out any moment that will help in moving towards a goal, it is necessary to establish contact with a certain unpleasant subject.

This moment, at least once, but happened in the life of every person. Then you had to choose: flee from the enemy, fight him, surrender your position or compromise, and it is also possible that you disclaimed responsibility or came to a consensus. All of the listed ways of developing the situation have the right to exist, since only one of them can be used to find a way out of the current situation.

Different situations always depend on certain circumstances.... For example, at work you were offered to take not entirely legal actions. To cover up some of the inconsistencies in your boss's work, you would either have to remain silent or tell the truth. Depending on your character, you would either compromise your conscience in this matter, or tell the truth. However, before making a decision, you would need to calculate all the pros and cons in favor of a solution.

Very often we all have to make a choice in favor of something. For example, you don't like working where you are. They don't pay much here, and sometimes you have to work even without lunch. However, you are appreciated and praised in this job. Let's say you have the opportunity to change your position. The offer is quite tempting, since the new vacancy is more paid. At the same time, you understand that in the new place your position will be rather precarious due to some of the nuances associated with official duties.

So, you have a choice: stay in the old place, where you are guaranteed to work for a long time, or take a risk. In the latter case, you can lose stability. In order to solve this problem, you will start to reason and eventually develop a certain strategy. Then you will make a choice.

When a person loves the work he is doing, this option is considered more than stable. Why? A passionate person is completely absorbed in the process. This process leads the person to the goal, like a guiding star. In this case, a flow arises that builds a strategy for automatically moving forward.

So, we found out that strategic thinking is not given to a person from birth. This factor must be developed throughout life. There is a certain thought process that unambiguously leads to the rapid development of intellectual strategy. How is strategic thinking developed? Consider the so-called foundations that contribute to the formation of a mental strategy.

Before you do anything, it is necessary to have some information. For example, you cannot solve a problem if you do not know its conditions. After considering them, you will be able to accurately imagine the stages of solving this problem, and also be able to assess your future success in order to find the final answer. Know that the main cross-cutting skill is the ability to gather information. This process includes such actions as working with different sources, analyzing information, communicating with people.

When the information has already been obtained, then the stage of development of intermediate stages begins, which are analyzed and carefully selected thanks to strategic thinking. This stage is called "planning". This process can facilitate either the continuation of any actions, or contribute to the complete abandonment of them. As a result of analyzing the situation, a person will have a clear idea of ​​all the weaknesses or strengths of his design. The largest component of strategic thinking, namely "planning", allows you to formulate deadlines for completing tasks, and also develops additional actions in case of force majeure.

A strategic person can get down to business very quickly. This sets him apart from other, less successful people. Thanks to the testing of their thoughts in practice, a person with characteristic thinking can deliberately perform any action. The above phenomenon is called action.

Strategic thinking is very important in many professions. There are a lot of examples of this statement. This ability is needed by a leader and a businessman, however, as well as other people who are engaged in intellectual work. Strategic thinking allows a person to:

• predict the end result;
• clearly understand the essence of the work performed;
• correctly prioritize;
• understand true life values;
• defend your point of view;
• find benefits even in cases where they seem hopeless enough.

If a person does not have developed strategic thinking, then he loses motivation for further actions. This means that he loses the desire to live fully. Again, if a person does not have his own goals, then he wants to get what other people have. However, other people's thoughts and goals will not lead to full-fledged thinking activity.

It turns out that without purposeful actions, no individual will be able to simulate the development of his further destiny... He will simply go with the flow without joys and sorrows. The lack of strategic action in a team, in a team or in a family leads to the onset of complete collapse. In this case, each member of a certain social unit will pull the “blanket over himself”, since he will not find his own niche in the team. For an enterprise or any company, the lack of a strategy means complete collapse.

There are many ways to help you develop strategic thinking. To do this, you need to learn to think in a special way. To do this, take a look at the guidelines.

• Your actions and thoughts should be positive.... Therefore, try to experience only pleasant emotions, and simply sweep aside negative ones. It is best to choose your favorite direction at work or in any other activity. Then you will feel complete peace, and this moment leads to success.
• New acquaintances will help you get a lot of positive emotions and develop your intellect. Communication with interesting personalities always has a beneficial effect on a person.
• To the above point, you can add that learning new material also helps develop strategy in your mind. It will be useful if you ask for help in this matter from a competent and intelligent mentor, for example, a university teacher.
• Analyze all the moments that happen in your life... The analysis process makes it possible to quickly develop a thinking strategy.
• Mind gamessuch as chess will help you develop your strategic intelligence.
• Never deviate from your intended goal.... If you can't achieve anything, do not quit what you have started anyway. Perseverance and work will grind everything. In this way, you will not only develop willpower, but also learn to look for paths that lead to success.
• Read books with a variety of confusing plots... This way you can analyze the plot, and therefore, think like a strategist.

All games and developmental exercises are created in order to awaken strategic thinking activity in a person. She definitely leads a person on the right path. So, let's take a look at the most popular techniques. Before making a decision, ask yourself the following questions.

• What result can satisfy me?
• Do I need to do this or that act?
• What to do to get the most profit from your plans?
• Is this or that decision so important to me?
• Do I really want this?

Always visualize the end result of your activity. Just imagine the picture you would like to see after the work done. Get into the habit of digging into the truth. Try to create an imaginary problem and come up with several ways out of it. Next, you need to determine which of the outputs will become more acceptable.

Look for causal relationships for an event. Try, for example, to determine why your friend acted this way, and not otherwise, when he quarreled with his boss.