Strategic thinking is a way to examine the choices you have when trying to achieve what you want. It means being prepared whether the outcome is positive or negative. It is a process that allows you to think more deeply about what you really want, how you need to achieve it, and most important of all – what happens if you don’t get it. Being prepared for a success is one thing, being prepared for a negative response is another. “What do I do if…?” should be asked before action is taken because an honest answer may require that you rethink everything else.

Once you know your objective, here are three key questions that will help you think about it more strategically.

1. What does a successful outcome look like?

2. Who will be affected by this change?

3. Am I prepared to LOSE?

When you have examined the possibilities, you will be better prepared to handle push-back, argument, or to fall back and regroup.

I wasn’t present when GM and the others came back to Congress with a “strategic” restructuring plan. But I would wager they did not think strategically enough, as in, what happens if the say “no”?

Good ideas abound. Getting them out there successfully – not so much. It takes courage to consistently push yourself to stay in the game, particularly when there is so much doubt around you.

Courage is doing something despite doubt, fear, or lack of confidence. If you have the courage to do things on your own, that’s great. But most of the time, we need someone who believes in us and our ideas, to be a positive force for moving forward.

The word “encourage” means to help someone find their personal courage to do something difficult. As a coach, helping people find their own courage to clarify, pursue, and realize their vision is the most rewarding element of my job.

The professional weather is cloudy, we are all painfully aware of that. The marketplace is flooded with talent, including you. You need an edge – some guidance system that will help you get the next position.

The old tried and true methods like a strong resume, a golf game with a CEO, using your network to meet people, – all good. But bring in a new instrument, maybe a coach, or a shrink, or an advisor – Someone who deals with people in the same situation as you but who can bring a new perspective to your table in particular.

What your mom taught you is still true. To be truly successful, the values you hold in your personal life have to be consistent with the values you hold in your professional life. It’s my experience that the most successful coaching clients are those who integrate their personal beliefs with their professional pursuits. Here are seven (and I’m sure there are more) important beliefs and practices that really do help us achieve whatever we’re chasing.

Honesty – Primarily about yourself. If you are, you will be honest with others .

Hope – This doesn’t mean you sit around and hope for something to happen. It means you are hopeful, and positive that when you are doing everything you can to make things happen, they will.

Caring – Not judgmental – about your family, clients, customers, and those who need your help.

Courage – To move forward, face the challenges, and make the changes you need to make.

Clarity – The will to be focused, forceful, and faithful to what you say you want.

Trust – In your own abilities, in those whom you seek to help you, and in the integrity of your own pursuit.

Awe – Genuine gratitude for the successes you realize and for those who helped you get it.

LISTENING TO ALL THE VOICES

Your friends tell you one thing, your colleagues tell you another, your family tells you something else, your kids have yet another take. So where do you go? Inside your own head.

Listening to the voices inside your head requires that you tone down the voices of others. Now this is not as easy as it sounds. The reason you are seeking all the opinions of others is that you don’t trust the voices in your own head. However, before you can make any decision, whether it’s based on someone else’s suggestion or your own, you have to have clarity in your own mind and heart.

Instead of asking others what you should do, find out what you really think. Do you have doubts? What are they? Do you think it will work? Why? What are the biggest obstacles? What are the best hopes? If you need someone to help you get clear, try a coach, a shrink, a wise person who has been there. After you have gotten yourself clear, then you can start asking others their opinions. You will be in a better position to judge their usefulness.

In the last several days, 4 people have asked me that question. It is then followed with “ well if they’re executives, don’t they know this stuff already”?

The people I coach and advise are successful before they call me. This is a very important thing to remember. They are already successful. When they call me it’s because they are likely facing a situation that is very high risk where the outcome will either be wonderful or terrible – no in-between, and they want to be sure they get it right.

The strategies and tactics they have used before, the very ones that have made them successful, are not working this time. It may be that the terrain is unfamiliar and they are having feelings they don’t usually encounter. For example, higher frustration levels, feeling derailed, fearful. It isn’t that they have never felt those feelings, it’s the degree to which they feel them. Maybe their usual frustration level is a 2, this time it’s a 10; while there is always a level of fear, this time it too is a 10. They have taken risks in the past – which is why they are successful – but this time the stakes are high. it’s life-changing for them and others and they want to stack the deck in favor of more success. They know to call a coach.

The notion that somehow one is weak, or inadequate and that’s why they need a coach is completely wrong. It isn’t because he feels inadequate that Tiger Woods has several coaches; or why Roger Federer has several coaches; or the best actors have several coaches. It’s because they know they are the best and they are facing something they either haven’t dealt with before or that they want to perfect.

Let’s take a successful actor – if a male has to play a female, he needs to be coached on how to be, act, and think like a female. He needs a coach – maybe more than one. Or if a winning runner is about to race on terrain they haven’t tried before in a place they’ve never been, they need a coach to advise them as to the best strategies, equipment, clothing, etc. to help them win even in an unfamiliar situation.

A successful CEO may be looking to change her direction. To help make a smart decision she will hire a coach to be her trusted advisor. Someone who will be honest and open. Someone who will challenge her thinking, help strategize, devise new tactics, teach a new skill, and polish what is already there.

Executive coaching is for the courageous and the successful. It is not for those who are afraid, who think if they call a coach they are showing weakness to themselves and others. Employing a coach to advise and help you get to the next level, make the difficult decisions, or help ratchet up the ante for your next big thing, is smart and shows a level of individuality shared by the strong.