Main Benefits of the 'Cure' Method
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Faster Results Through Simpler Choices This method takes the confusion out of tough problems, so you can go from having an idea to getting something done much quicker. By moving with more Speed, you get a better return on the time you invest at work.
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Extra Effort Becomes Your Performance Power When you clearly see the right way to proceed, it naturally makes you want to put in Extra Effort—the drive to do more than just the bare minimum. This extra push turns normal jobs into big successes without needing more people or money.
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Strength Through Kept Company Knowledge Using a set way to solve problems helps the company keep its Company Knowledge. This builds long-term Strength, making sure your team doesn't forget what it learned or make the same mistakes again, even if things change in the business or on the team.
The Problem with How We Think About Strategy
The current way we try to teach strategic thinking has a basic design flaw. Most workers believe in the "Boss's Toolbox" lie—the wrong idea that strategy is just a special collection of methods or past examples you only get access to after a promotion or a special degree. By treating strategy as information to hold onto instead of a way to approach your daily job, you are holding yourself back. You are basically waiting for someone to tell you it's okay to think, while you are stuck just doing the work.
This is a bad situation caused by company roadblocks. Modern companies are set up to reward being very good at small, specific jobs, praising you for hitting short-term targets while ignoring the bigger picture. This creates "Doing Mode Brain," where you are actually paid to ignore the main purpose. By the time you get a job that requires real foresight, you've forgotten how to put information together. You have built up a huge amount of career debt that is about to cost you everything.
The only lasting fix is to stop solving problems one by one and start checking the whole system. You must stop asking how to fix one task and start asking what the existence of that problem tells you about where the company is headed. This shift from just producing things to focusing on the real results is necessary for anyone who wants to avoid getting stuck in the middle ranks forever.
Three Checks for Missing the Big Picture
Stuck on Doing Tasks
You feel good because your "to-do" list is clear and your email is empty, but you feel nervous when a leader asks how your work helps the company's three-year plan. You are great at "doing" but struggle to explain the "why."
You are tricked by rewards that only focus on speed, trained to ignore the big picture, teaching yourself to be just a tool instead of a strategic thinker.
Plan By Result
Make it a habit to "Plan By Result." Before starting any big job, write down exactly how finishing that job changes the company's place in the market. If you cannot connect a daily task to a long-term business result, you must stop and ask your boss to explain the background context.
Waiting for a Title
You think that thinking strategically is a high-level skill that requires a special degree or a "Head of" job title. You are waiting for someone to hand you the "Boss's Toolbox" or say it's okay to start thinking about the company's direction.
By waiting for a title to "start" thinking strategically, you are reinforcing the habit of just following orders, which actually makes it less likely you'll be promoted.
Look at the Whole Picture
Switch from "One Step Logic" to "Seeing the Full Picture." Stop seeing your work as just your job and start figuring out the "ripples." For every project you manage, find two other teams that your work touches and meet with them to understand what they are struggling with.
Always Fixing Crises
You often get praised for being a "fixer" because you are good at handling emergencies. But you find yourself fixing the same kinds of problems again and again, and your "fixes" never seem to stop the next emergency.
You are stuck in the "Doing Mode Brain" cycle, treating problems as separate tasks instead of clues about the system flaws that caused the hurdle.
Question the System
Start "Questioning the System." When a problem happens, don't just fix it; ask, "What does the fact that this problem exists tell me about our current way of working?" Suggest one change to the basic process or how people talk to each other that would make that problem impossible to happen again.
Strategic Thinking: The Checklist
To move from being a "doer" to a "strategist," you first need to spot the habits that keep you stuck in the details. Strategic thinking isn't about working harder; it’s about changing how you look at your daily work compared to the long-term system. Here is the checklist to help you see where you or your team are now and where you need to go.
Focus & Scope
Fixing Fires: You spend all day answering urgent emails and putting out small problems. You are tired but haven't made any progress on the big goals.
Plan Ahead: You choose high-value work that stops fires before they start. You can tell the difference between what is loud and what is truly important.
Switch from constant "firefighting" to intentional prevention.
Problem Solving
Treating Symptoms: When a problem happens, you just put a quick patch on it. Issues keep coming back because you never fix the real cause.
Find the True Cause: You ask "Why?" until you find where the leak started. You build systems so the problem can never come back.
Move from temporary patches to permanent systemic solutions.
Decision-Making
Analysis Paralysis: You are afraid to make a wrong choice, so you wait until you are 100% sure. You miss chances while overthinking small details.
Smart Speed: You understand that being 70% sure is enough to start. You move fast enough to adjust and iterate as you go.
Prioritize velocity and learning over perfect certainty.
Time Frame
Surviving the Week: You focus on getting through the day. Success means clearing your email and making it through the next meeting.
Multiple Levels: You connect today's tasks to long-term goals. You know how a "small" step today affects the company's future.
Connect micro-tasks to macro-strategy and future objectives.
Success Measurement
Task Density: You think success means being "busy"—how many boxes you checked or how many hours you sat at your desk.
Real Results: You measure success by actual effect. You are ready to do less work if it leads to a bigger outcome.
Transition from measuring activity to measuring impact.
The Key Change
To switch from the "Old Way" to the "New Way" requires changing your mindset: Stop being a repairman and start being an architect. A repairman fixes what is broken; an architect designs the building so it stands up in the first place. Strategy is the skill of choosing what you will not do so you have the energy to do the right things perfectly.
Limits to Strategic Thinking
Strategic thinking works very well in many cases, but it has specific Limits—meaning it works great in some situations but can cause big problems in others. Focusing only on high-level problem-solving will eventually show these three "Hidden Issues."
1. Getting Stuck in Details (Friction at the Limit)
When you see the big picture everywhere, you start treating every small task like a huge strategic move, losing the ability to know simple fixes from complex strategy. This leads to "Thinking Too Much."
2. The Doing Disconnect (The Rare Case Problem)
Strategic thinking often assumes a "perfect world," failing to account for real-life Rare Cases like human mistakes or system glitches, making the strategy fail when it's put into action and making you look like you don't understand reality to the team.
3. Switching Fatigue
Constantly switching between "Big Picture Mode" and "Get Stuff Done Mode" (Switching) is tiring for the brain, leading to less creative problem-solving when it’s really needed.
To stay effective, plan specific time for thinking: don't spend too long looking at small issues. Set up a "Reality Check" step by talking to the people doing the work before you launch anything. Also, avoid constant switching by setting aside clear times for strategic thinking (like Friday mornings) to save your mental energy.
Main Tools for Checking Your Strategy Skills
Checking Tool Career Planning Tool
What it checks: You can't see your own "blind spots" or set good long-term career plans.
- Asks smart questions to help you think critically.
- Helps you build a real, strategic path forward.
Checking Tool Job Checking Tool
What it fixes: You want to spot and fix skill gaps now so you can be a stronger job applicant later.
- Compares your resume to job ads to find missing skills.
- Gives you specific "What To Do Now" steps to improve your profile.
Checking Tool Career Look-Around
What it checks: You have "tunnel vision" or can't see how your current skills can lead to better, higher jobs.
- Finds "skills you can move" from your past jobs.
- Shows you a full look at senior career paths.
Common Questions
How can I practice "Questioning the System" if I am already buried in daily tasks?
Strategic thinking doesn't require you to find new time on your calendar; it requires you to change how you look at the work you are already doing.
Instead of spending more hours, take five minutes at the end of every task and ask: "Why did this problem even reach me in the first place?" By finding the real cause instead of just fixing the quick issue, you eventually reduce the number of "fires" you have to deal with, which frees up time for bigger work.
Will my boss think I’m being slow if I stop to "map ripples" instead of just finishing my work items?
The key is to explain what you find in a way that matters to the business. Instead of telling your boss you are "thinking," show them the "risk" or "chance" you found.
For example, instead of just fixing a software glitch, report that the glitch shows a bigger communication problem between two teams. Most bosses like people who stop future problems from happening, as this helps the whole team work better in the long run.
Do I need to learn specific tools like SWOT or PESTLE to solve problems with strategy?
While those tools can help organize facts, they are not strategy itself. You don't need a formal "toolbox" to start. Strategy is a way of thinking as a habit.
If you can switch from asking "How do I finish this?" to "What does this task change for our customers or our goals?" you are already thinking strategically. Real success comes from knowing your specific "Full Picture," not from filling out a standard form.
Moving Past the Toolbox
The idea that you have to wait for a certain job title or a special degree to get the Boss's Toolkit is old news. That false idea only keeps you stuck doing endless tasks, waiting for approval that will never arrive.
The fix for "Doing Mode Brain" isn't more information—it is the Synthesis Check. By choosing to see every job as a piece of information in a bigger system, you start working with a level of understanding that no book can teach you.
Stop fixing for right now; start building for the main goal.
Further Reading
Think Aloud' Protocols: Showing Your Work in Problem-Solving Interviews
From Hard Skills to Soft Skills: Why Emotional Intelligence is Your Biggest Career Asset
