It took me a while to figure out the difference between a planner, strategist and consultant. I asked some friends for advice about what a strategist is and what makes a good strategist.
What does a strategist actually do?
A couple of interesting comments and additions have filtered in that add to the conversation from the last post on what is a strategist. I’ve included them below:
A strategist cuts through the ‘noise’ to realise true value.
– Dorenda Britten, Managing Director
A strategists develops “strategies”. Which implies taking both broader scope and longer time than most functional or operational decision-making and analysis does. A strategists identifies the gaps from the current situation to the desired long-term outcomes, and defines the key levers of change. They then recommend appropriate ‘settings’ for these levers, prioritising them. A key component of strategy is what is excluded, what doesn’t fit with the recommended approach.
– George Arnold, Programme Manager
A strategist is akin to acting as an internal management consultant – but in the real world.
– Simon Leitch, Head of Sales
A strategist sets the trajectory of an idea and puts a blueprint for its delivery is motion.
– Louis Gordon-Latty, Project Manager
A strategist is like a doctor, we need to understand your symptoms, which we then use to build a picture of what you need to do to get where you want to go. And like Doctors, we learn about the typical illnesses and how to troubleshoot unknown causes through experience & research.
– Ben Young, Marketing Director
What makes a good strategist?
A good strategist, like a good doctor, can often reach a conclusion very quickly, even with very little information.
– Ben Young, Marketing Director
A good strategist is fluent in the craft of envisioning, architecting and executing future outcomes, while simultaneously being able to deliver tangible demonstrative methods, interventions and way-finding systems that achieve the shaped intentionality.
– Nicolae Halmaghi, Creativity Curator