Planning or chaos? Wandering through a world without a map

I was planning an article about strategic thinking, and I remembered many people I had met who were often held up as role models. These individuals stood out because they didn’t dwell on overthinking and moved quickly into action. eager to act, they frequently bypassed the strategic planning phase. In the end, they failed.

In many small or medium-sized companies, as well as among solo entrepreneurs and freelancers, there’s a tendency to undervalue the strategic aspect. I believe this undervaluation is a consequence of ignorance and mental confusion. Unfortunately, it frequently occurs in areas that are significant and crucial on a personal level.

In short, without thinking, it’s painful! Without a strategy, it’s painful! Without strategic thinking, it’s both costly and painful, with failure guaranteed!

Strategic thinking is about planning and utilizing resources and possible actions to achieve goals and adequately address challenges.

Okay, it’s not the academic approach; those who want more know what to do.

What does strategic thinking mean? Let’s first understand what “strategy” means and where the term comes from. The word reached us from ancient Greek, with its roots in the term “strategos” (στρατηγός).

“Strategos” was a term used in antiquity to describe a military commander or a superior military leader. It is composed of two parts: “stratos” (στρατός), meaning “army,” and “agos” (ἀγός), referring to “leadership” or “leader.”

Initially, the term “strategy” referred to the art and science of military leadership, including the planning, coordination, and execution of military operations.

Over time, the term expanded its meaning and was adopted in non-military contexts, such as business, politics, or other fields, to describe the planning and implementation of actions for a specific purpose, understood as part of a broader set of objectives.

The concept of “strategy” has become a fundamental concept in various fields, signaling intelligent planning and management of resources to achieve your desired goals or outcomes.

I can’t help but notice the military mindset, confrontational, borrowed from the terminology of warlike thinking. The most frequently cited and often misunderstood military treatise is Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War.” There are two main reasons why this work is not understood:

• Many confuse tactics with strategy.
• The work is about the pragmatic application of universal spiritual principles.

Tactics versus strategy can also be formulated differently: strategy versus operational approach. Strategy is everything you do before the battle begins; tactics are everything you do after the battle has begun. Unfortunately, I’ve seen quite a few articles or posts where these terms are mixed up.

The Art of War and spiritual principles. Okay, it’s challenging to have terms that seem to exclude each other in one place. However, Sun Tzu explains the reasons why war must be studied. What he doesn’t say is that, at the time of writing the text, the filter through which it was studied was well known.

Maybe there was a single individual, maybe there were more, as suggested by various scholars. The idea is that in war, like in other activities, some universal principles are respected.

This is the real reason they have so much applicability. It seems that there are economic schools in Asia where the science of military strategy is studied with great attention for purely economic purposes.

Sun Tzu’s book is not the only one addressing the subject. They are studied in the context of a broader collection called the “Seven Military Classics,” of which Sun Tzu is just one of the authors.

Indeed, many personalities have understood the importance of strategic thinking.

Strategic thinking quotes.

Let’s see the lessons we can learn from the lack of strategic thinking:

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” — Winston Churchill

• It’s about the importance of strategic thinking for success. When you don’t know how to get where you want, when you don’t have a map, it’s easy to get lost.

“Strategy is the art of creating power to achieve political objectives.” — Edward Luttwak

• Maybe we’re not interested in politics at all, and we don’t even like it. I understand from here that strategic thinking is not just about planning but also about creating advantages and opportunities. Ideally, the strategy should help you achieve more with less.

“Tactics without strategy are like noise before defeat.” — Sun Tzu

• Tactics are important but more is needed. They should be part of the strategy. You can go in a direction opposite to your goal, as long as you know this, do it consciously, and limit it in time.

“He who has no overview of things will always be at the mercy of details.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Strategic thinking helps you see the big picture and not get lost in insignificant details.

“Strategy is about choosing what not to do.” — Michael Porter

• Sometimes, the most important strategic decisions are about not doing certain things. Focusing on what truly matters can help you achieve more success.

“Without a clear vision, people will perish.” — Proverbs 29:18

• A clear vision is vital for strategic thinking. It’s what helps me define my goals and guide my actions.

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can control it.” — Alan Lakein

• Strategic thinking helps in preparing for the future and anticipating potential challenges.

“He who has no long-term strategies will struggle with short-term tactics.” — Confucius

• Strategic thinking supports focusing on long-term goals and not getting lost in urgent but significant issues. (Yes, Confucius speaks from personal experience because he was once a prime minister and had his share of wars and confrontations.)

“A good strategy executed today is better than a perfect strategy executed tomorrow.” — George S. Patton Jr.

• It’s important to take action and not get stuck in excessive planning. An imperfectly implemented strategy is better than a perfect one that is never put into practice. Many who act and throw themselves like rams or… lemmings invoke this quote. However, they forget that, at least here, it starts from the premise that there is a strategy!

“Strategy is about creating options.” — Gary Hamel

Good strategic thinking helps you create options and not get stuck on a single path.

In conclusion, let’s always remember that:

“There is no favorable wind for he who does not know where he is navigating.” — Seneca

It’s not exactly a plea for the deserved attention of strategic thinking; it’s just the first step toward a broader development of this subject.