Thinking Strategically

Professionals talk so much about being strategic and thinking strategically, yet how well do they understand what that really means? It is not enough for a strategy to be well designed. It must produce results. Thinking strategically about your HR role for the organization means assessing HR's current state and planning for its future in support of the organization's future direction in the year ahead. It also means planning ahead for potential obstacles and the HR strategies and action steps to overcome them.

For this Discussion, review this week's Learning Resources, especially the article "Managing Complexity: Systems Thinking as a Catalyst of the Organization Performance," and think about a workplace situation which you have experienced or have read about, where short-term (or short-sighted) thinking was turned successfully into strategic thinking, or strategic management, to really produce the best outcome. Quick fixes and short-sighted approaches are not always the best outcome in the long run.

Post an analysis of what you would have done to turn a case of short-term thinking into strategic thinking and management, and what you would need to do to get others to be willing to follow your lead on this shift in thinking and managing. What obstacles might you anticipate?

To the writer: This course is a Strategic Human Resource class. Please include information on Systems Thinking as it pertains to Human resource management.