Strategic thinking is a critical tool that allows you to look at something through a different lens, assess how to improve efficiencies, create an innovative new initiative and on and on.
But where do you begin?
One way is to carve out what I call “strategic thinking” time each week. Give yourself an hour each week to literally just think. No emails. No phones. No meetings and no interruptions. Just thinking. Sounds divine, right? I know. I know. You simply don’t have the time to give up one full hour each week to do “nothing” but stare out the window or allow your creative juices to let loose.
Most of us are moving at such warp speed that we don’t give ourselves the gift of slowing down long enough to “noodle” on a fresh idea, a solution to a challenge or think through how to refine a current process/system. We’re going from one meeting to the next with no time in between to synthesize our thoughts and before we know it Friday afternoon rolls around and we can’t remember what we accomplished that day let alone Tuesday morning.
Well if you do allow yourself this gift of time, it turns out you’ll be in some very good company. Some of the most innovative companies in the world allow their employees this time each week. Google allows their employees 20% of their workweek to do just that. Gmail, Google Maps, Slack, and Groupon are just some of the innovations that were created from allowing uninterrupted strategic thinking time.
Now, of course, you don’t have to start with 20% of your workweek to be successful. Start by dedicating just one hour per week. Make it a non-negotiable time block in your calendar each week. Same day. Same time.
I would love to hear some of the amazing transformations you come up with! Drop me an email at: robbin@womenignitingchange.com
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Information about Women Igniting Change®
Robbin Jorgensen is the Founder and CEO of Women Igniting Change®, a purpose driven, global strategic consulting firm that specializes in women’s leadership. They work with Fortune 500 and mid-market companies to develop integrated end to end strategies that help transform their women leaders into strategic business partners. They are trusted by major brands including Microsoft, Deloitte, Oracle, Bank of America, General Electric, Vanderbilt University, the University at Albany and more. Robbin has had the honor of working with women leaders in 14 countries on 6 continents.
To learn more about how Women Igniting Change® transforms women leaders into strategic business partners for their organizations, email Robbin at robbin@womenignitingchange.com.