Whether you play golf, the guitar, or Saturday morning pickle ball, there’s one universal truth: if we only do something once a year, we’re not going to be very good at it. The same can be said for strategy. If we only “do” strategy once a year during the strategic planning process, then we are not going to be strategic.
Every skill requires lots of practice to perform our best. Professional athletes typically spend 90% of their time practicing and 10% competing. In business, it’s reversed. Many people spend all of their time working IN the business and no time practicing to become better. How often do you practice the skills that are foundational to your business success?
The average executive leader exercises for 45 minutes per day so there’s a significant investment in their physical fitness. However, when it comes to strategic fitness—the ability to navigate the business by continuously learning from our situations and interactions—we still have a way to go. Results from 3,185 leaders who have taken the Strategic Quotient or SQ Assessment, a tool I developed that measures a leader’s ability to think, plan, and act strategically, shows that the average SQ score is only 70 out of 100. Increasing the ability to think, plan, and act strategically requires the discipline to practice the skills that are key to a successful mindset and behaviors. If you’d like to take the mini-Strategic Fitness assessment to see where you stand, visit www.Strategic-Fitness-System.com
