Attributes Of Strategic Thinking, Part 1

There are four key attributes of strategic thinking. Today’s study will address the first two. 

Key 1: Strategic thinking produces design in all it touches. God is a designer. He created everything according to its kind. In other words, if your ministry is raising cattle, don’t go into the chicken business! Many people struggle to identify their ministry, so they try everything, hoping they will accidentally find their anointing. When an organization starts, there may be numerous projects, needs, or opportunities screaming for attention. This snare can divert us from our primary calling and purpose. Studies on the most effective long-term companies show a common characteristic of sticking to their niche. A successful company knows its primary purpose and does not get involved in producing products or services that could divert it from its main call. 

Key 2: A strategic thinker thinks from the whole to the part and from the end, backward. This type of thinking ensures the overall goal is in sight. Ask yourself, “What will this ministry or project look like in its fruition?” Of course, it rarely ends up looking exactly like that. But if you don’t start with a big-picture vision to work backward from, I guarantee you will never get there. You don’t think forward first; you must think backward. 

Isaiah 55:8 reminds us, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.” God thinks from the end to the beginning. That is why He was the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. He didn’t just think about the Garden of Eden in Genesis; He thought about the full consequences beyond the Book of Revelation. If you have the mind of Christ, you can begin to think from the end to the beginning and from the whole to the part—because that is the way God thinks.

Thought of the Day: Strategic thinking produces design and a long-term vision.