The topic looks academic but it’s nothing serious. Some things are not as serious as we make them look. Sometimes, we make simple things simply difficult.
In the simplest term, strategic thinking is the ability to analyse complex situations, anticipate future challenges and opportunities, plan proactively to surmount any identified challenge and harness the opportunities therein.
I grew up with my mother and maternal grandmother. I was also the youngest of three siblings, which automatically conferred on me the responsibility to wash all dirty plates in the house.
We didn’t have the luxury of running tap or dish washer in my early years but I remember there was this perforated plastic basket for dirty plates that doubled as drainer after the dishes were washed.
Those who grew up during my time would attest that the mothers of those era had a way of calling you to task when you think it is your playtime. For the wise ones among us, you just have to be strategic in your thinking.
As everyone ate and dropped their plates in the dirty basket, I would go back and pour water on every plate to prevent the food remnants from hardening on the plates. It was a strategy.
My mother would watch me till the eleventh hour when it was about time for me to go footballing or doing my street play before reminding me that the dishes were yet to be washed.
When I became of age and started hearing about strategy and strategic thinking, it occurred to me that I had been thinking strategically from my childhood without even realising it.
A major challenge that could stop me from enjoying my playtime was battling with a basket full of plates already stuck with hardened food remnants. The water solution was my proactive strategy to optimise my playtime.
For complex thinkers, my story may sound too simple but sometimes we make simple things simply difficult because we struggle with solutions when we don’t take our time to understand the problem.
Strategic thinkers see problems from afar and start proferring solutions before they become emergencies. Make it simple.
©️Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
12 January 2026
