Become A Strategicer!!

Gunjan
Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker!
Ajay: Welcome to the Coach Toolbox. This podcast is for coaches,

leaders, and learners at all levels in organizations and in all walks
of life. Here, you will get just in time learning that is research based
and practice focused. The goal is personal and professional
mastery. And now our session today.
Hi everybody! It is my pleasure to welcome to this amazing
episode, Gunjan Gupta. And she is going to sort a lot of things for
us in life, especially she is going to shed light on something that all
of us struggle with which is how to become a strategic thinker. And
Gunjan is absolutely the best person to talk to us about this
because she has spent an entire career in analytics and in data
management. And she is currently the director and head of
Enterprise Data at Barclays. Before Barclays she was SVP and
head of analytics at Bajaj Alliance, before that HSBC Fidelity and
many more companies across the last 25 years, so she has an
amazing track record in the space of analytics. She has earned an
MBA from North Carolina University and is an alumni of St.
Stephen’s College in Delhi. So, we can’t get a better person to talk
to us about how to become a strategic thinker. So, Gunjan
welcome.
Gunjan: Thanks. Thanks Ajay, excited to be here.
Ajay: So, one of the expectations that bosses have of their senior leaders
is that this person must become more of a strategic thinker or he
must start developing a strategic perspective.
And as executive coaches working with senior leaders that is the
one of the key requirements that we often come across that the
client must become more of a strategic thinker. And then when we
ask them what do you mean nobody has an answer for what we
mean by strategic thinker.
So, Gunjan please let’s start by shedding light on this very
important understanding within the context of senior leadership
what exactly does it mean to be a strategic thinker?
Gunjan: Sure Ajay. So, before I get into the meaning or my interpretation of
what it means to be a strategic thinker, I think for a minute I would
like to dwell on the definition of strategy to set the context because
the term strategic thinker obviously is coming from strategy. So, I
am going to stick with the definition that I really like which is
Richard Rumelt’s definition of strategy which says, a good
strategy is a set of actions that is credible, coherent, and
Ajay Nangalia PhD PCC Hear this live on htttp://coachtoolbox.podbean.com
Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972
Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker!
focused on overcoming the biggest hurdle or hurdles in
achieving a particular objective. So, you know in my opinion and
experience what I have observed is that a true strategic thinker
hence is able to formulate and execute on the strategy much
better than a tactical or non-strategic thinker.
Now, getting into what is it that makes a strategic thinker. I think
they have the ability to understand the purpose of their role in
context of the organization that they are working in, their
stakeholders, the regulators, and the environment around
them.
I think it is the ability to be clear on the long term
organizational goals to be achieved and the ability to connect
dots to visualize how it may all play out.
It is the discipline to plan for the future and scenarios that can
cope with ever changing environments which like we all know
things are just always changing around us.
And sometimes you know just depending on the organization curve
it can be as simple as envisioning new solutions to old
problems and figuring out the most optimal way to execute on
those ideas.
What I have seen is that strategic thinkers seem to be very open
minded, in the sense they think with their blinkers off.
They complement their thinking with peripheral vision which can
be developed because they have very expanded external
networks.
They stay abreast of industry trends. They are just very much
in tune with the environment. They like to get to the bottom of
things in terms of root causes and linkages and then triage it
appropriately. They are also keen observers of organizational
politics and understand the bias in organizational decisions.
And with this knowledge they are very often able to get buy in for
their ideas and get them implemented.
I think the other, and then I will conclude this part of the question, is
that they are very, very comfortable with data. And I am not
saying this because I am in analytics, most senior leaders, almost
all of them you know data comes very, very naturally to them.
And I think it is a prerequisite for becoming a strategic thinker.
You know there will never be all information available at any given
point in time to make a decision and with the limited information
and very, very quick timelines it is important that one has
confidence in the decision or whatever is the recommendation. And
what better way to gain confidence than data.
And finally I think strategic thinkers show a lot of courage and
conviction to make decision even in ambiguous situations.
Even when all the information is incomplete they take a stand and
move ahead.
Ajay: So, Gunjan that’s like really hard to understand all the things you
have explained about what a strategic thinker is. Can you give us
some examples so that we really start understanding what it
means at a function head or at a business head level?
Gunjan: Yeah sure Ajay. I know that was a lot of big words so let me try to
put them in context now and I am going to pick examples from my
world. So, I have mostly been part of the back office or central
functions like finance, operations, technology, analytics, business
intelligence and so forth. Now, these are teams that are largely
considered cost centers and not revenue centers. The general
impression is that these are teams which are agile, which are good
at execution, which are very, very tactical in nature. So, how does
one really go about applying strategic thinking here?
Because these functions are kind of inward looking and not outward
looking as say a sales, marketing, and products which can be
governed by the market forces, the customers, and the
environment around them.
So, you know one thing I found useful is to truly understand
the role and purpose of the team in the larger scheme of
things and build success measures and performance
indicators around that. And this was something I kind of
mentioned earlier on too, what defines a strategic thinker?
So, for example elaborating further, the efficacy of an analytics
team can easily be measured by the kind of techniques they are
using. So, I can say that I run a crack analytics team because we
use machine learning algorithms, we use big data, data
engineering, etc. all the buzz words. We have like 50 models that
we have developed in the year; these models are really accurate,
so on and so forth. But actually that is a very siloed and myopic
way of looking at this function.
Now, the moment you shift the conversation to how the
analytics in sites or the product of that model, the output that
you are generating, how does it impact the profit and loss
statement of the company?

You suddenly have a strategic angle building up because at
the core of it all every model that we build with data it either
helps in increasing revenues or it helps in minimizing losses,
or it helps in cutting costs.
And once we start using this framework we automatically start
using strategic thinking because then the focus is not on using the
current or the most glamorous techniques to build a model, the
focus is on how am I impacting the company’s bottom line.
Where does my entire function kind of fit in, what is it
impacting and how can I make that better?
I will take another example from a function.
Ajay: Okay, so what you are saying so far if I have understood correctly
is that the moment I start looking away from just my function or my
silo and start looking at how my function or my silo can impact the
larger company, I am shifting towards a strategic perspective.
Gunjan: That is precisely what I am trying to say, yes Ajay.
Ajay: Okay, alright, so tube light is now coming one. Please go ahead.
Gunjan: No, I was just trying to give another similar example from a function
like operations. So, you know there is a lot of talk about process
automation, digitization, cost cutting, etc. which again is a very
limited way to look at the purpose of that organization. But I think
the moment we start viewing ops as the backbone of an
organization that is responsible for providing the best in class
customer service. Yet again you have a conversation going on at a
different level altogether. So yeah, in conclusion it is like where do
you fit in the ecosystem?
Ajay: So, thank you. I am beginning to understand it more and more. So,
put it even more clearly what are the elements or what are the
components of strategic thinking, how will I know what it is?
Gunjan: Sure Ajay, yeah, yeah. I think I will try to summarize whatever I
have been saying. I think any time one is working on their project or
if there is a decision at hand, how can one ensure that you are
indeed applying elements of strategic thinking?
I think there are these 3 I’s that I think of which I think is the
framework I use to decide whether I am thinking strategically,
whether I have the big picture or am I being very, very tactical and
in the now.

So, I think the first component I think is what I call impact and you
know this is again kind of rephrasing whatever I have been saying
so far.
Focus on the impact of your role and work and project in the
larger organizational context. The formulation of your success
measures and your key performance indicators needs to be from
that larger organizational context, it cannot be small.
Yet again for example it is not enough to say I developed an upsell
propensity model using machine learning as part of my work. What
makes it strategic and important is quantifying the actual
impact that model make to the company’s bottom line.
As in what is the product per customer ratio before the model and
after the model, are you measuring it because that is the real
efficacy of the work that you are doing. What is the immediate
feedback that you receive from the frontline sales teams in terms of
false positives? Did you go and incorporate those changes in your
model or did you just say no, I have built this and maybe next year I
am going to review it? So, I guess the moment you focus on the
impact you start thinking of deployment and usage of the
model and how it fits in the customer value chain and not just
the model itself in silo. So yes, the first component as I
mentioned was impact of your work.
The second component of strategic thinking, while you are
thinking about your work and doing is what I call the second I
which I call interlinkages.
How is the project, the team, and your role, how are they
linked to other entities within the organization? So, coming
back to my analytics model example who is the user of your
model? Who will be impacted by it? How can you work with
those teams to maximize the impact of your work? Can you
really map the lineage of your work, you know where is it
coming from and where is it going?
So, you know just to simplify it further, so any time the analytics
team produces a upsell or a cross sell propensity model it is
actually the sales team who are out in the field who actually use the
outcome of that model and unless you take the time to explain
what the model is doing, what do those propensity scores
mean, it will never be put to good use. And you can do it only
when you are sure of the user of the model and how your work is
impacting other teams.

The third and final component for strategic thinking is very
simply that I call inclusion.
So, what this means is have you included all kinds of diverse
viewpoints, diverse data around you, any other pieces of
information that you gathered through your external networks
or through your industry research into the decision to make
sure that whatever you are suggesting is holistic in nature.
You have considered the best case scenario, the worst case
scenario, and you are proposing what would be prudent for the
organization.
So, in conclusion there are three components of strategic
thinking that I have found useful, impact, interlinkages, and
inclusion.
Ajay: That’s really helpful, because now I can; you know the introduction
that you spoke about in terms of what is strategic thinking, all that
material now I am able to peg it under these 3 I’s and it is now
beginning to make sense and more importantly it seems to me that
I now know what I need to do if I have to start moving towards
becoming a strategic thinker. So, thank you.
So, now I have understood the elements, I have understood the
components of strategic thinking. Now, let’s assume I am a Vice
President looking forward to becoming a CXO and I want to now
over the next 2 years develop myself to become a CXO. Or I am a
senior leader and I am now aiming now for the VP level role and I
therefore want to develop myself over the next 12-18 months to get
that VP role. In either of these places how can I start
developing these competencies of strategic thinking? How can
I start developing these 3 I’s?
Gunjan: Yes Ajay. Yeah, that’s a good segue into actual practical things that
one can do. So, I think the first is don’t accept the status quo
but you know don’t be disruptive about it. So, when one is in a
meeting and there is information that is passed around and more
often than not it is we have always done it this way and this is going
to be and why we know it is going to work or not going to work.
Kind of question it and the intent of the question should be to
get clarity on what we are trying to do. And at your most
personal level, yet again, you know what is your purpose in the
entire scheme of things and how is your role and work going
to influence it.
So, I think the first is ask more and better questions to get
clarity but of course don’t be disruptive about it because a lot
of times we have seen people ask questions just to be heard
or to gain visibility, that’s not the way to go about it.
The second way, I think an easy way to do it is develop the
discipline to study data, even though it is a little bit boring but
once you start getting into the trends which are impacting the
industry, the work or the function you are doing you start
understanding the micro and macro environmental factors. Things
fall in place and a lot of new ideas and hypotheses get
generated from there which help you conduct your role in a
more holistic fashion and also display that you are ready for
the next level.
You also develop your intuition and conviction once you have
the data and research to back it which kind of builds your
confidence. I think another way to kind of develop the competency
is to start thinking like the C-suite or whichever level you are
aspiring for. Very simply if you were the business head or the
CEO what decision would you make if this was your own
company, what would you do?
So, you know just kind of going back in time, very early on in my
career I was exposed to the C-suite as a couple of my reporting
lines kind of vanished, people were either fired or they resigned.
And suddenly I had to face very, very senior leaders and defend my
numbers and analysis. It was kind of literally, it was a very stressful
time.
But I think what had helped me was I started observing the
questions that they were asking and the way their thinking was
to come to a certain conclusion. And those questions helped
me get prepared for the next time and that habit is still there
with me where I kind of overthink all kinds of questions that
can be asked and prepare for that.
So it is very simply you know how does that senior leader
think, what could they possibly ask me?
I think the next I would say is just network externally, not just
within your team. Be very, very actively involved in industry
groups and with peers in the industry to enable constant
learning and an open mind.
Ajay: Okay. This sounds like a lot of work.
Gunjan: One at a time.
Ajay: I was hoping for some shortcuts, some secret formula but this is
actual hard work. It really means I have to as a senior leader put in
time and effort, understanding information and that would be not
only the internal information that’s available to me but information
that’s available at a business level.
So tracking and reading magazines perhaps like the Economist or
The Economic Times which perhaps many of us as senior leaders
say we just don’t have the time to do this sort of thing.
And then also to be able to go out and network externally so that we
are able to again not only build alliances but get information so that
then that would feed into the questions that we are asking and also
to be able to understand what’s happening in the micro and macro
level.
So, what you are really saying is we need to put in time, effort
to do this and to start in addition to my functional expertise I
need to add this sort of economic perspective or economist?
Gunjan: Sure Ajay. So no, that would be ideal if we could kind of read The
Economist cover to cover and understand every word, yes, that
would be ideal.
But I think a simple way to get started is just start paying
attention to the quarterly financials of your own organization
or the annual report.
Because most of us just kind of gloss over it, we will read probably
the first two pages and then we are done but if we were to read it
I think there is a wealth of information in there, it suddenly
puts your own job in perspective; you are able to see where
did you impact the numbers.
Secondly you are able to see what are the head winds and the
tail winds that the company is going through.
And thirdly what is the strategic direction the entire
organization is moving towards based on those numbers.
So, I don’t think it is that hard, maybe I have just made it sound
really hard but I think if we can incorporate that discipline of just
making use of the information which is already available to us
better I think we can be kind of well on our way towards strategic
thinking.
Ajay: So true. Most time many of us don’t even look at our own
company’s annual reports or what is being published data or
internal financial reports other than yeah, we are doing well or a
percentage numbers here which are easy to remember, we really
don’t dig deep. And what you are saying is that is an essential and
a useful source of information for us to have data and to develop
perspective. Alright, alright. I am beginning to understand and I am
also beginning to understand that this seems like an attitude and
approach a longterm sort of thing, it is not going to happen 5 days
before my interview for the senior role.
Gunjan: No, no, not really.
Ajay: So, we started with examples of maybe at a VP level or a CXO
level but some of our listeners maybe saying that or I am just
leading a small team or a small project, is this applicable to
me? How can I start applying strategic thinking in what I do?
Gunjan: Yes. Frankly Ajay it is kind of applicable at all levels. And
unless you display that you have this very critical skill you will
never be kind of looked at for the next level.
So, this is one of those key things in addition to obviously excelling
in your current role, having your very strong personal brand, having
your sponsors and mentors across the organization. But for them to
be able to take your story forward you need to have the core. And I
think few things or rather out of the many things I have mentioned
so far I think the most important yet again is that whichever level
one is on you need to see how you fit into the fabric of the entire
organization, what is really your role, what is it that you have been
brought to do.
If tomorrow you decide to not show up to work are you going
to be missed or not? And you got to get to the stage where the
work you are doing is impactful, meaningful, and you are the only
person who can kind of do it and kind of move on from there. So
yeah, I think it is level agnostic, it is required at each and every
level.
Ajay: Level agnostic, I like that term, I really like that term. So, I now have
a plan, I have the 3 I’s model, I am beginning to sense the stuff
that I need to do to start implementing and to develop this
competencies of strategic thinking. So, now that I have started
this journey how can I make my boss or my boss’s boss notice
these aspects in me, how can I become more visible as a
strategic thinker?
Gunjan: So, from my experience I think what I have seen is that once I start
working on these competencies such as getting familiar with
the strategy and the strategic direction, becoming more and
more sure of my role, the impact its making, getting
comfortable with data, with diverse pieces of information. The
confidence that comes with it I think it just kind of projects you
as a different person in front of the senior leaders, boss, even
the boss’s boss. It is a very organic process and I don’t think
one has to do anything special to be noticed.
Now, one thing that I would suggest is create opportunities to
display this newfound you, the bigger picture thinking you to
the powers that matter. And I think one simple way is to just ask
your boss to let you present your work or numbers in the
meetings. Because very often we kind of do our work, hand it over
to the boss, the buck stops at the boss, the boss will ask a few
questions and then we are kind of scot free, it is up to the boss to
kind of handle those questions. So we can always offer and say
that, hey, I mean you can present the work but why don’t you take
me along to answer followup questions that may come. So, that’s a
good way for you to kind of get your foot in the door and get
exposed to the senior leaders.
Now, once you have that moment of sunshine you have to be
prepared for that moment because you don’t know when it is going
to come. Because it is at that moment that you bring all your
preparation, all the discipline that you have been following to the
forefront and that include showing the impact of your work, showing
all the alternate hypotheses and your thinking behind your
recommendation.
The other thing is continue to work on your communication
skills. So, one is strategic thinking, being a strategic thinker,
the other is being able to express it and project it. I think
communication skills are supreme and your presentation skills need
to be excellent.
You know it is worthwhile to remember that as people move up
the levels their attention spans tend to decrease and you really
need to get to the point very, very quickly. We have all heard of
the elevator pitch and that elevator pitch should be present for all
your key projects or whatever work you need to present. And that
can only happen if you are a subject matter expert in your work,
you understand its implication and are able to kind of present that
picture to the C-suite or the senior leaders. You have to answer
that question what’s in it for me very, very quickly once you
are in front of them.
In conclusion build a good rapport with your boss so that he or
she gets to trust you, he or she starts giving you the visibility
and once you have that visibility if you have done all the
things you had to prepare yourself you are just going to shine.

Ajay: Absolute gold. I think you have really made some amazing points,
so in addition to the strategic skills we also have to focus on
communication and presentation skills. So Gunjan, as we start
bringing our conversation to a close what are some secrets or
tips that you would like to share because you are such an
expert in this. What can you share that will really help us?
Gunjan: I don’t really have any secrets; I think I have revealed all my secrets
in this conversation. But you know Ajay, there are lots of myths
which I think surround strategic thinking and in my experience all I
would say is yes, they are myths. And for the listeners today I want
to debunk some of these myths surrounding strategic
thinking.
I think the first is you had kind of built it into your earlier question
also, strategic thinking is the forte of senior leaders, I don’t need it
at my level, I just need to come in at 9, do my job, leave at 5. Myth
number one, no, it is level agnostic. Second, I don’t have time to
think strategically as I am so caught up in my day to day tasks.
That’s another myth. You know strategic thinking is not like this
special book that you need to take out time for. It is a way of
thinking that you need to incorporate in your day to day work,
in the decisions that you are making. You know whatever you do
in your daily task it has to just come in naturally; it cannot be a
special event. Another myth is I will develop my strategic skills by
attending a training class and some workshops. So, while training
classes and workshops are good for giving you a context or a
framework ultimately it is your own practice and discipline which is
going to count. So you cannot depend on like three workshops or
three trainings a year and you become a strategic thinker, no, it
has to be a daily self-guided, self-determined process.
A lot of people say I am more of a tactical thinker, I am great at
execution, I am not much of an ideas person. No, no, no, that is
another myth. All of us have it in us, there are different degrees,
some of us seem to think more strategically because we have been
exposed to those kinds of situations which have forced us to kind of
expand our thinking. But it is not that you are born with it or not, this
is something that can be developed and all of us can do it.
And finally I think people say my current role doesn’t offer me the
opportunity to use my strategic thinking skills. When I am placed in
a strategic project the thinking will come. No, no, no, you will not
be placed into a strategic project till you show that thinking.
So it is a classic chicken and egg, so I say just kind of keep doing
that daily.

Ajay: Alright. So, amazing myth that you have busted regarding strategic
thinking and it helps us all get so much more clarity. So thank you
for sharing that. Any books or resources that you could
recommend that will sort of help us started on this journey?
Gunjan: Ajay, I would say get started with the annual report and the
corporate relation section of your company’s website, I think
there is a wealth of information there which will give a lot of
seed for thought, yeah, that’s what I would say. But other than
that I think it is an organic process which can happen or which can
be developed if you are just cognizant of it and you kind of do it in
your day to day jobs.
Ajay: Excellent, what a wonderful place to start and you know sometimes
it is so much easier if you say oh, I will buy the book and keep it on
the shelf and they say did you do strategic thinking, haan mere
paas book hai na. But I really haven't practiced the 3I’s framework, I
think that’s a lovely place to start and very good place to start is the
annual reports and the corporate relations aspect parts of our
website.
So, you know I think you have really brought light to this grey area
of strategic thinking, not only for bosses who want their teams to
develop more strategic thinking because now they can explain it or
they can ask them to listen to your interview. And even for those
who have been asked to become strategic thinkers, they can listen
and they will now have a roadmap, a clear roadmap, practical
roadmap that they can start.
So, if it has helped our listeners please send gurudakshina to
Gunjan directly.
So Gunjan, as we close any messages that you’d like to leave with
our listeners?
Gunjan: I think Ajay all I would like to say is, one is yes, it is not as big a
deal as it is made out to be and I am also guilty of kind of putting it
in the developmental needs for my associates. But I think it is a
very, very important skill to have, it is not tough to do if you
kind of become cognizant and follow these simple things of
the 3 I’s that I mentioned and get familiar with data, yes.
Ajay: Excellent. So, we now have a starting point, we have an
understanding and so now we also have a clear action plan.
Gunjan, thank you so much, it has been a pleasure having you here
with us.
Gunjan: Thank you, thank you Ajay. I am glad I could help out. Thanks.

Ajay: And that’s it for today. Thank you for listening. Please connect with
us on coachtoolbox@gmail.com, we’d love to hear from you. And
don’t forget to follow, subscribe, and review this channel. Details of
our ICF approved coach training programs and our services as
executive coaches and coaching supervisors are on
www.globalcoachtrust.org. See you in our next session.


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Gunjan

Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker!

Ajay: Welcome to the Coach Toolbox. This podcast is for coaches,

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