How much time did you spend last year thinking about what you really want, about the direction of your life, and how exactly are you going to get there? Research shows that we rarely think and contemplate about what great life means for us, about our purpose, goals and vision.
But what if you started thinking as if you were a business – literally?
Rainer Strack from BCG and his colleagues (HBR, 2023) propose that we can apply Strategic Thinking to our own lives to create the life that we want – by answering the same 7 questions that companies use to create their strategy for success.
It makes absolute sense to me, and it’s the main reason why I love coaching.
Specifically, it makes sense because:
A business is a system that will inevitably change over time.
Our life is a system that will inevitably change over time.
Further, it makes sense because:
Strategic Thinking is a reasoning process that supports goal-oriented decision making using curiosity, information synthesis, pattern recognition to generate future possibilities.
To know what we really want, and how we are going to get there, it’s necessary to add rationality to our emotions and intuitions. We need all three.
The Seven Questions to help you clarify what really matters to you:
1. How do I define a great life?
2. What is my life purpose?
3. What is my life vision?
4. How do I assess my life portfolio* (health, relationship, work etc)?
5. What can I learn from benchmarks (those that you admire)?
6. What portfolio choices can I make?
7. How can I ensure a successful, sustained life change?
I’m adding the 8th, if a bit daunting but powerful question?
8. What do I really don’t want in life?
The best way to do so might sound counterintuitive, but it’s at the time when things are going well for us.
Authors propose taking several hours to complete the full exercise. From experience, I don’t think that’s realistic – unless you are already quite clear about what you want.
This type of work is best done with a coach, because all of the above questions are categories of probable hundreds or more subquestions.
Suitable coach will support you and challenge you with questions and observations that promote insight.
Your insight is the truth about what you really want, using strategic thinking.
It’s worth it; because it’s your life, it’s your business.
Image: Image: Alamy, Demi Moore in A Few Good Men, 1992.