Strategic Thinking - The Objective

Most people think reactionary.  Few think strategically.  

Reactionary thinking is often a result of not applying the lessons learned in the blog series (September 2010) on controlling the mind.  

A strategic thinker understands how other people think.  They understand how other people react and most importantly they understand how to trigger peoples choices.  This skill enables a strategic thinker to move an organization in the direction it should go or to influence people that need influencing.

Strategic thinking can be applied in more ways than just military operations.  It can be applied to working with:

1. Children
2. Spouses and extended family members
3. Employers and employees
4. Clients
5. Competitors
6. Partners
7. Donors and Charitable Organizations

 The First strategic principle is to really understand what your objective is.  I know, I know.  You think you already know your objective.  I bet you may not.

For example, most business owners think the objective is to be profitable and make money.  Most married people think the objective of their marriage is to be happy and share life together.  Parents think their objective is to raise good kids. 

That is like the Eisenhower going to FDR with his plans for D-Day and telling the president that his strategic objective is to win the war.  Too many battles have been lost due to unclear objectives.  Vietnam is a GREAT example.  These are all primary aims -not strategic objectives.

Many people go through life without clear and concise goals and objectives.  This is one reason why goal setting is so important to the achievement of ones aspirations, calls, or destinies.

Before entering negotiations; before arguing with a loved one, know what your objective is.  From there make sure it is clearly and simply defined.  Strategic Objectives are measurable.  When I reported to my commander, after an operation, I knew if I had accomplished the objective or not.

This is a simple lesson yet it is the simple things we most often neglect.  We value the more complicated.  It seems that if something is complicated and difficult we think it is the "hidden secret."  Yet this "return to the basics" concept is the foundational step in strategic thinking. 

In the next blog entry I will show you how this is done in combat and how it dramatically expanded our business.

Strategic Thinking - Humble Audacity

Strategic thinking is like driving a car- everyone thinks they are a great driver when few really are.  Most really do not understand it.  Of those who understand it, fewer yet apply it to daily life and business.

As a former Infantry Officer I was schooled and schooled- drilled and drilled on strategic thinking.  I had to oversee 35 men who's lives would be on the line in combat if I failed in my strategic thinking.  One of my favorite training exercises, my strategic thinking was so unique, I earned an immediate promotion.  My platoon of 35 had to hold a hill against 2,500.

I will share with you some principles I applied then and apply today as I take a small 15 person company to have offices around the country in a down economy.

The mindset to take forward through our discussions of strategy is Humble Audacity.  You won't find this principle in any army manual and some may even disagree.

"Surely Patton and MacArthur were not humble," some might say.  Maybe.  But maybe not.

After all my military training, experience, and studying of people like Sun Tzu in The Art of War, the great Samurai statistician Miyamoto Musashi in The Book of Five Rings, and Carl von Clusewitz in On War I see a simple trend of victory I call: Humble Audacity.

Many people confuse Audacity with Arrogance.  They are not even connected.  The opposite of Audacity is not Humility.  Humility is the opposite of Arrogance.

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, "Arrogance" means:  "having...an exaggerated sense of ones' own importance or abilities." When a commander thought too highly of their capabilities, when they displayed pride, their enemies often stroke at their unseen weakness and defeated them.

Strategically, Humility means to have a sober understanding of your opponents capabilities.  If you think your enemy is tougher than he/she really is, and you plan to defeat the more difficult opponent you created in your mind you will win every time.

The New Oxford American Dictionary says that "Timidity" is "to show a lack of courage or confidence.  You can have superior resources but if you are scared to use them you will be defeated.

Audacity is "The willingness to take bold risks." 

As you look at strategic thinking for your family, your life, your business, your negotiations, or your goals think "Humble Audacity."   Have a clear understanding of what you have and what you don't have.  Have a clear understanding of the opposing forces.  Then be audacious!!!

My Grandchild is expected to be born on my birthday

SIDE BLOG ENTRY: 

I just found out my first grandchild is expected to be born on my birthday!!  How many grandparents get that kind of news?

Life really is a blessing.  This summer I have been to the funerals of a niece that was 16 and a 34 year old wife of a close friend.  The first left behind grieving parents and siblings.  The later left behind a young child and husband.

Not a single day is owed to us.  Each day is what we make of it.  I know this is not new to any of us.  Yet it seems that the most simple and basic principles in life and success are so quickly pushed aside in the tasks and hurried life style we seem to lead.

Take a moment to appreciate those around you.  Take time to appreciate yourself and the life you have.

Until next time...

Transform Your Mind: Transform Your Life #8

Speak about your hopes.  Speak about your dreams.  Speak about your goals. Speak about the person you want to become.

Here is the promised 30 day plan that will dramatically change the way you think about yourself and the things around you.

Day 1:  Spend 15 minutes asking yourself who you would like to be (not have)  in 10 years.  As yourself questions in the following areas:  spiritually who would you like to be?  Intellectually?  Physically?  Emotionally? Relationally?  Financially?
Day 2:  Write out two sentences in each area that are in the following format for each of the areas listed from the first day:  "I am ...."  Present tense and positive.  Not "I  am not..."  "I am..."  For example I am an intellectual genius who loves reading and learning."
Days 3-7: Read the twelve statements to yourself, OUT LOUD, with emotion, with your hand on your heart.  This will incorporate you audio and kinetic learning and reprograming.  Emotions drive the statements deep into your inner being.
Day 8-14:  Continue declaring the statement but add one new declaration in one of the areas each day.
Days 15-21:  Continue the declarations.  You will start to notice that old thoughts will pop up that are contrary to your declarations and you have felt foolish during the first 14 days.  By day 15 you are starting to believe your declarations and you can mentally reject negative, contrary thoughts to your declarations. 
Days 22-30:  Have fun with this and continue declarations.  Add more statements that are relevant to the person you want to become.  You will now have the internal strength to reject comments made by your friends that are contrary to your declarations.  You will notice some relationships that are contrary to your declarations. 

After running through the 30 day plan, post what changes you saw or felt.

Transform Your Mind: Transform Your Life #7

The last mind trigger to look at is:  What you say.

Some would argue that what the mind thinks starts the process of what you say.  At times this is true.  However, the opposite is also true.

I have a close relative who is the most gifted construction worker I have ever met.  When I am next to him working I've noticed that EVERY time he hits his thumb with a hammer or has some type of accident he immediately says, "You dummy!"

When we talk he is convinced he more stupid than smart.  Yet he is highly kinetically brilliant.

When I bought a franchise I had to go to Canada to spend a week in training.  The CEO spent the first two days talking about the concept of speaking to yourself each day about what you want to think about.  Some call it affirmations.  Some call it declarations.  The masses think it is a worthless concept.  Yet I find that many highly successful people practice this concept.  A great book to check out that goes more into detail is Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.

I have gone through major wins and major losses in my life.  This concept has dramatically helped me keep my mind in the game. 


What are the voices saying in your head?  What do you verbalize to yourself? 

In my next entry I will give you a 30 day plan that will change your attitudes and concepts about yourself and your capabilities.  Your confidence will be OFF THE CHART.

Transform Your Mind: Transform Your Life #6

The trigger we are discussing is "What you Listen to."

Discussions with our friends starts our mind down a track.  That doesn't mean you cannot change the track it's on.  However, we often go down a track for a while before we realize we could be thinking on healthier topics.

There are three levels of discussion topics.  Ask yourself which level do you listen to the most?

1. The lowest level is talking about people.  It is easier to talk about people than anything else.  We read magazines and watch shows telling us about people.  I've noticed more people want to talk about the bad in others more than the good.  Yet even if all you talk about is the good in people, this is still the lowest level of discussion.
2. The next level of thoughtful discussion is talking about events.  This could be current events or events at work.  This requires a little more thought and exercise for the brain.  
3. The highest level of discussion is talking about concepts.  Conceptual discussions push the mind to ask questions.  The mind explores when it talks about topics, theories, and logical or illogical arguments.    

What kind of conversations do you listen to?  What kind do you start?

Transform Your Mind: Transform Your Life #5

The second trigger that starts your mind down a path is What you Listen To.

As I travel every other week around the country I am always amazed at how many people travel with something stuck in their ears.

Just like we discussed with reading, most listen to entertainment.  Nothing is wrong with entertainment.  In fact, at the age of 45 I started playing the drums.  I love music.  I have a wide variety of music I listen to.  Music from the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and present.  I listen to relaxing music and I listen to rock.  I love Jazz and I like Country.

So three things to consider:
1.  Music is a unique medium of taking a message and driving it deep into our spirit.  That is why we like to dance and move our entire body to music.  I evokes a wide range of emotions.
2.  Therefore, be careful of the messages you listen to.  Lyrics about sex and killing are bound to have some negative impact on your spirit.
3.  Consider changing the percentage of entertainment you listen to.  Instead of having 100% entertainment, try to put 20% of educational or motivational talks on your IPOD or smart phone.  Something many Kindle readers do not know is that you can plug in your ear phones and have it read books to you.  I love that feature especially when my eyes are getting tired.

The mind really is a garden.  Sometimes we put crap in it and hope it turns to fertilizer.  We don't realize it is really toxic waste we are really dumping into our own environment.

Transform Your Mind: Cool Tool

Before we go to the next trigger, I just found a great way to track many of the things you read.  It doesn't matter if you read it in a book, on a website, or watch a video.  This will even track texts or voice notes and allow you to retrieve it on your smart phone, website login, or your computer.

Click on the link for the app "Evernote" to learn more.  As a writer, speaker, and business development guy I think this is invaluable.

Transform Your Mind: Transform Your Life #4

That last visual trigger for your mind is:  What you Read.

According to the Washington Post 25% of people didn't even read a book last year.  According to the Associated Press the average person read four books last year.

Of those that read, many are fiction or as I would categorize "Entertainment."

While reading is important, reading beneficial information will ignite the mind and change your life.  How much entertaining books have you read compared to educational?  How many entertaining magazines have you read compared to educational?

Here is a reading plan that changed my life and EVERY life of those I know who tried this plan.

1.  Find the one topic that would help you the most at work or your desired career.  Ask your boss for help if you need.
2.  Read that topic for 30-45 minutes each day, six day s a week for 3 months.  Most people absorb the most in the morning before going to work.  Find the best time every day that works for you.
3.  Write or journal what you learn along the way.
4.  Find ways to immediately apply what you are learning.  Share what you are learning with others.
5.  Change subjects and focus on the next most beneficial subject for the next three months and repeat the cycle.
6.  Due this until it becomes habit.
7.  Learn Dynamic Speed Reading.  Pick up the Evelyn Wood Reading Program.  This program helped me go from reading a book a month to a book every couple days.

Even if you took the final quarter off due to all the holidays you will be surprised how much you know and have applied to your life in the first year.  If you could only read one book every 2 weeks for three of the four quarters a year, you would have read almost 20 books on your subject and had applied their principles to your life.  After five years that turns to 100 books.  When the average person reads 4 books a year and most are entertainment, you dramatically learn more and place yourself far ahead of your competition.

If you read what the successful read, you will understand what the successful understand.  The unsuccessful think that there are secrets to success-  there are.  But the secrets are available to those who search for it.

Next entry we will look at the second type of trigger that directs the mind.

Transform Your Mind: Transform Your Life #3

The second area to control the trigger of the eyes is: Control WHAT we look at.


Our culture is filled with visual stimulus.  Advertisers know the power of this trigger.  You see a picture of not just a bottle of soda, but the bottle has water droplets on it.  Look at this and tell me that you didn't feel something in the back of your throat.  www.pepsi.com.


Understanding the power of the triggered eye can help you keep clear thinking.  The pictures we put in front of us can either help us or hurt us.  Pictures of things that we don't need become strong triggers and tell our mind that we MUST have it.  We then can't get the pictures out of our mind.  We think on or sub-consciously meditate on those things all day.

Another visual influencer which is heavily negative is the television.  So many shows and movies portray people and present concepts that will not help you go to the next level in your life.  Many shows highlight the lowest part of our society- people who are getting their cars repossessed, people who fight in courts, criminals, and people fighting in dating situations.  Other sitcoms show people who are not the greatest thinkers and are not the people you really want to idolize.

Positive visual pictures can also trigger the mind.

I have a large poster board with pictures of things and events that will bring me closer to my goals.  Pictures of things that trigger the reminder and strong desire to take my family places, to create charitable foundations, to learn new things.  In essence, to live the life I was designed to live, not the life my culture tells me is normal.

I encourage our sales force to put up a picture of their top five prospects.  Keep something visual in front of them so they work on that account each day.  Is may be funny but it works.

Next blog I will tell you what you can look at that will dramatically change your life within a year.

Transform Your Mind: Transform Your Life #2

The first trigger is to CONTROL OUR EYES

We have to control our eyes in three areas.  The first is to Control Who We Look At.


Men are famous for not controlling their eyes.  When they "can't" stop looking at the women walking by their thoughts fill up on sexuality.

The same principle is true with success.  Who are you looking to?

Most people look to the people who are in the same circles and situations they are.  That is why Facebook is so HUGE.  Most of the time we are looking to people who we like, who like us and nothing has to change.  This activity absorbs an enormous amount of time.  Is that you?

Other people like to look to frequent complainers.  Complainers in a company become a cancer that spreads and kills.  They do not cause success.

Our culture is not crazed with looking to entertainers.  We are fascinated with their marriage and legal woes.  That really doesn't start the thought process of achievement.

Our news programs are filled with murders and thieves and will cause fear is many.  The other news stations that are really just news opinion channels.  They love it when they can interview yelling heads that interupt each other and are quite opinionated by may not be the most rational.

The ancient writer of Psalms said this:

Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.

Who are you looking to?  This principle is vital to success.  Are you instead, looking to people who are achieving?  People who are moving ahead?  People who are influencing?  People of leadership?  If so, your thoughts fill with ideas of bringing yourself into their spheres.


Next post will be the second area we look at that triggers our thoughts.

Transform Your Mind: Transform Your Life

Do you ever have a time where you can't break your cycle of thinking?  The thoughts could be thoughts of depression, thoughts of failure, or thoughts of fear.  Do you worry that you can't achieve what others have achieved?  Do you think the good life is for someone else?

If you think like the successful think you will do what the successful do and that means you will get what the successful get.  The path will NEVER be straight.  You may have to go through times of long, tough work hours.  You may have serious financial strain and troubles before you get where you want to go.  That is exactly what the successful also had to go through.  That is why they are successful.  Most are not willing to go through the tough junk to get the great life.

It all starts with the thinking process.  How can we control our thoughts?  How can we control our mind?

There are three triggers that start an automatic thinking process.  If we can change the triggers we change our thoughts.  If we change our thoughts we change our actions.  If we change our actions we change our results.

In my next post I will start the discussion on the first trigger.