How to Become a Strategist?

What is a strategist and what does he or she do? It refers to both a role as well as an orientation a business manager can bring to bear on a situation. In the role, the strategist is responsible for designing and executing a strategy. When playing such a role, your essential objective is to build a secure and sustainable business over the long run. But you can be a strategist without playing that designated role. In such a situation you use the orientation of a strategist. You use the same core skills and the worldview that he uses. Although being a strategist is a reward in itself, there is another tangible reward: You create the highest impact in any situation. If you are wondering how to become a strategist, the answer is below.

How to Become a Strategist?

We have just completed an entire season of the podcast titled Becoming a Strategist. As the second season of the innovation Muse podcast, it brought almost 5 hours of professional quality production. The season has 12 inspiring episodes and each leaves you with several insights. Each track uses many examples and entertaining stories of companies and strategists.

The season aimed to help both a novice strategist as well as an accomplished one. For the novice, it provided an overview of what it means to be a strategist and the core skills needed to become one. For the accomplished strategist, it had many reminders of key lessons of strategy. Sometimes, hearing something we know is enough to help us use that insight. That was my objective for the accomplished strategist.

Here is a rundown of each episode of the season:

Episode 1: The Essense of the Strategist

What does a strategist do? What skills are needed to become a strategist and how can you become one? These are the questions we discuss in this episode of this podcast. It also brings an exciting story of a successful strategist in action

Episode 2: Flawed Thinking Methods That Hold You Back

Research over the last 40 years has shown that humans are prone to many thinking traps. These traps make us imperfect decision makers. This thinking is the biggest barriers for you to become a strategic thinker.
In this episode, we will understand some of these traps.

Episode 3: Becoming a Strategic Thinker

How do you become a strategic thinker? In this episode, I share a four-step process to help you become a more effective strategic thinker.

Episode 4: Attacking Problems Like a Strategist

In this episode, we go to the heart of the method used by strategic thinkers. Strategists use this method to identify great levers around a core issue of a situation. This is what makes a strategist so powerful.

Episode 5: The Goals of the Strategist

This episode of the podcast explores the goals of the strategist. As the goals we set for ourselves make an immense difference in the output we produce, it is critical to understand the aims of the strategist. A deeper understanding of these goals can help you become a  better strategist.

Episode 6: The Field of the Strategist (I)

This episode of the podcast explores the field of the strategist. It is the broader business context with powerful forces that affect the business. These forces can be so powerful to render many strategies useless. When a strategy is aligned with the field, it becomes more powerful.

Episode 7: The Field of the Strategist (II)

This episode of the podcast further explores the field of the strategist. Continuing our exploration into the field’s outermost circle, we discuss four major forces in the field.

Episode 8: Searching for Opportunities Like a Strategist

This episode reveals the five forces that determine how profitable an industry will be. This concept is a dominant concept in strategy area that all business school students know. It is a critical concept not to be missed by anyone.

Episode 9: Competing Like a Strategist

Competition is a major force in the field of the strategist. It can render effective strategies ineffective over time. It sometimes makes you run faster to just stay in one place. This episode provides an opportunity to understand what is involved in competing like a strategist.

Episode 10: A Key Weapon of the Strategist – Organizational Capabilities

No strategy is possible without the right organizational capabilities. In the absence of the right capabilities, a strategy is just a pipe dream. Learn about organizational abilities and how they help strategy.

Episode 11: Competitive Advantage – The Holy Grail of the Strategist

The single most important for a strategist is to build a sustained competitive advantage for the business. Without such an advantage, a company finds it hard to survive. With a sustained competitive advantage, a business not only survives but also generates superior financial returns. This episode explains the sources of competitive advantage and how to build such an advantage for your firm.

Episode 12: The Strategy Process (Season Finale!)

The strategy process is a critical part of a company’s strategy cycle. It is also one of the three critical resources and capabilities that an effective strategist needs to be successful. In this last episode of the season “Becoming a Strategist” we discuss the strategy process. We go into details of many aspects of strategy design and execution process and explain how to make your strategy process more powerful?

Key Takeaway

There are many skills needed for one to become a strategist. It takes years of practice and self-development to become an effective strategist. Although one needs knowledge of strategy and business history to become an effective strategist, one needs a lot more to become a top-notch strategist. A great strategist also needs strategic thinking capabilities. The episodes on strategic thinking will help you understand how this is a skill that needs practice more than knowledge. As a result, if you want to be an accomplished strategist, you need to start your journey today. The innovation Muse podcast season on Becoming a Strategist is a great place to start your journey. For those already on your way to becoming a successful strategist, this season will be an excellent refresher.

How to Listen?

This audio series is now available as a part of a complete online strategy program called Becoming a Strategist. You can explore the program here