5 Key Elements of Strategic Thinking & How to Leverage Them

Strategic thinking serves as a critical tool for organizations focused on long-term success. Unfortunately, this term is often ill-defined, making it difficult to develop and implement in organizations.

To successfully build a culture of excellence, business leaders must first understand what strategic thinking means for them and their workforce. Without this foundation, even the most well-intentioned initiatives can fall short of their potential. While many leaders talk about being “strategic” – what separates truly strategic thinkers from those who simply plan ahead?

To answer this question, we can turn to the expertise of Dr. Jeanne M. Liedtka. A business administration professor, Liedtka defined five key elements of strategic thinking in her landmark 1998 article. These fundamental patterns don’t just improve decision-making—they revolutionize how leaders approach complex organizational challenges.

1. Intention and Focus

Intention and focus are two ways to drive strategic thinking. Used together, intention and focus can help business leaders identify precise and effective strategies for success.

Before building a strategic plan, you must be intentional about defining specific goals. What are you hoping to accomplish? What is the value it will bring to the organization? Maybe you want to increase sales of a specific product currently in demand or create a new department in your organization that will streamline efficiencies.

By narrowing your intent to one or a select few strategic targets, you can eliminate other activities that may be a distraction. If an initiative doesn’t align with your strategic intent and focus, set it aside for another time or consider realigning the project so it supports or reinforces the strategy.

2. Systems Perspective

No element of a business exists in isolation. You cannot examine each part alone. You have to consider the interdependence and interconnectedness of everything to gain a full picture and understanding. This systems-based perspective promotes an intelligent and strategic approach to any possibility of progress or challenge or opportunities.

You make decisions with a systems perspective when you:

• Choose a reliable supplier over a supplier with rock-bottom prices because you want to prioritize product quality, on-time delivery, and customer loyalty.
• Encourage team members to cross-train on responsibilities in other departments so they can collaborate more effectively.
• Create a PR plan before you institute a big change at your organization, such as acquiring a company or launching a new service.
• Consider the short- and long-term implications of layoffs on morale, client relationships, and productivity alongside the effects on your financial bottom line.

There are innumerable ways that an organization’s leaders can utilize a systems perspective. The key is to recognize the interplay between people, teams, functions, projects, customers and more across the organization. Doing so improves communication, collaboration, and efficiencies. Otherwise, self-interests, myopic thinking, and silo mentality begins to creep in and can wreak havoc across the organizations.

A systems perspective also aligns nicely with servant leadership concepts in that it disrupts traditional hierarchical thinking, forces you to look outside yourself, and develops a servant culture to drive and support strategic priorities that will have the greatest impact.

3. Thinking Long-Term

Strategic thinking encourages a broader perspective, urging you to review the relevant past, present state and potential future before making a decision. By considering both past events and future outcomes, you gain a clearer understanding of the necessary steps and actions required over time. This long-term view provides a structured context for making informed choices that align with overarching goals.

Looking at the past, you can find insight from historical precedent. For example, looking at budgetary excess from previous years can help you make clearer allocation decisions for the future. You might learn from historical hiring practices, partnerships, and customer data.

You also must consider the future as a set of likely scenarios and possibilities that are yet to unfold. While the future is uncertain, you can draw insights from the trajectory of the past and present. For example, if you’ve experienced high turnover over the past 24 months, it’s reasonable to assume that trend will persist without intervention. However, you should also account for unexpected developments, such as emergent disruptive technology that could fundamentally reshape or improve how you access and serve customers. Thinking long-term challenges you to learn from the past, stay grounded in the present, and prepare for both the predictable and the unforeseen.

By staying rooted in the past, attuned to the present, and an eye to see the future, you lay the foundation for lasting success and achievement. Strategic thinking does not sacrifice to make temporary, in-the-moment gains. Instead, it takes a calculated approach that balances current and future needs.

4. Intelligent Opportunism

While strategic thinkers have defined intentions and exceptional focus, they do not forget to look around them as they work toward their goals. Intelligent opportunism means keeping yourself open to new ideas and new opportunities—but doing so in a discerning way that does not distract you from your purpose.

One great example of intelligent opportunism is the invention of Post-it Notes. Dr. Spencer Silver at 3M set out to develop a super-strong adhesive but instead created a reusable, low-tack adhesive that initially seemed like a failure. Rather than dismissing it, Silver remained open to unexpected possibilities. The breakthrough came when a colleague realized the adhesive’s potential for keeping bookmarks in place in his hymnal, sparking the idea for what became Post-it Notes. By recognizing the value of this unanticipated outcome and adapting his focus, Dr. Silver aligned the discovery with 3M’s broader goal of developing innovative, useful products.

Remain adaptable and keep your mind open to new ideas. When outside change occurs, be willing to realign priorities or lead through uncertain circumstances. One purpose of strategic thinking is to keep you nimble enough to seize intelligent opportunities as they arise.

5. Hypothesis-Driven

The corporate world can draw inspiration from the scientific method, which balances new innovative observations or ideas with rigorous analysis. By taking a hypothesis-driven approach, you can systemically explore opportunities, test ideas, and create value for your organization.

Begin by posing questions informed by all the context and insights you’ve gained in your strategic methods. Use your data, observations, and analysis to identify bold or incremental, innovative opportunities. This will inform you of the best questions to propose in order to develop further strategic insights.

You might ask questions like:

• What benefits might we gain if we leverage AI or automation in this process to improve efficiency in our efforts to reduce costs by 18%?
• If we launch a pilot program to test this new service model in a smaller market, will it reveal customer preferences we haven’t yet considered?
• What advantages could there be to partner with this emerging startup to co-develop a product that meets untapped customer needs?
• If we reimagine this process from the perspective of our customers, how much faster could we deliver value to them?
• If we reallocate resources from one underperforming product to one with high potential, what measurable gains could be made within the next six months?

Once you’ve identified your hypothesis, test it systematically. Design experiments or pilot programs to gather data, validate assumptions, and refine your ideas. Each hypothesis-driven effort not only guides your actions but also generates new insights that inform future questions. This iterative process fuels ongoing innovation and positions your organization to seize opportunities and create lasting value.

Find more examples of strategic thinking at work with CMOE.

Develop Your Strategy Tools with CMOE

Strategic thinking isn’t just a skill – it’s a transformative behavior that can be developed and strengthened over time. Whether you’re leading an entire department or a small team of individual contributors, mastering these five elements of strategic thinking can help you navigate complexity with confidence and create a lasting organizational impact.

Ready to elevate your strategic leadership capabilities? CMOE’s strategy courses provide the structured guidance and practical tools you need to achieve quantifiable results. Join other forward-thinking leaders who have transformed their approach to strategy and decision-making through our proven development programs.

Contact CMOE today for your free consultation on a customized strategy development plan for your organization.