The Lost Art of Strategic Thinking

How urgency culture is hijacking leadership—and how to take it back

Jun 11, 2025

Introduction

I was speaking with a CEO the other day, an innovative and driven individual running a fast-growing business. Somewhere between back-to-back board meetings and putting out fires with two key clients, he admitted something I’ve heard from a lot of leaders lately:

“Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I had a full hour just to think.”

Not plan. Not reply. Not execute. Just think.

And that stuck with me. Because it’s not uncommon. Somewhere along the way, reacting became the default mode of leadership. We reward the fastest response, the swiftest fix, the calendar filled to the edge. But here’s the irony: in our rush to keep up, we’ve lost the time and space to look ahead. The urgent has hijacked the important, and strategic thinking has become collateral damage.

This isn’t a critique. It’s a reality check. And perhaps a reminder: if we want to lead well, we must return to thinking purposefully, rather than reacting on autopilot. It’s the leaders who carve out space to think strategically, deliberately, even defiantly, who consistently pull ahead.

When Was the Last Time You Thought?

Let’s be honest: you probably can’t remember the last time you had a solid hour just to think. Not to respond to emails, not to sit through meetings, not to scan social media, just to think.

These days, most leaders are caught in a whirlwind of meetings, messages, and a calendar that leaves zero space for actual thinking. You start early, run all day, and crash at night, only to wake up and do it all over again. Thinking time? That feels like a luxury, something you’ll get to once things “slow down.” (Spoiler: they never do.)

But here’s the truth: strategic thinking isn’t just a bonus activity; it’s the most important part of the job as a leader.

Yet, in a culture obsessed with urgency, true reflection often gets pushed aside. We glorify busyness, chase inbox zero, and wear “always on” like a badge of honor. As an example, my goal has always been to read and respond to all emails within 24 hours of receipt. As my responsibilities and title increased, I eventually had to abandon that objective. I couldn’t keep up, but it didn’t mean that by abandoning it, I added more time.

Strategy often gets relegated to an annual off-site meeting, only to be overshadowed by the next urgent issue. I’ve seen this time and time again in organizations.

The result? Leaders end up reacting instead of guiding, companies drift instead of aiming, and long-term direction takes a back seat to short-term chaos.

It’s time to pause this madness. If we want to lead with purpose, we must start thinking purposefully again.

The Strategy Drought Is Real

This isn’t just a hunch; a genuine strategy drought is occurring in many organizations. We have access to more tools, dashboards, and AI-generated insights than ever before, yet leaders are spending less time on strategy.

According to a Korn Ferry study, the average C-suite executive dedicates less than 5% of their time to actual strategic planning. That’s right, only a tiny fraction of their workweek. The remaining 95% is consumed by execution, meetings, and addressing emergencies.

It's no surprise that many companies feel stagnant. The situation isn't improving, either. A survey by McKinsey revealed that only 23% of executives believe their organizations excel at strategic decision-making. This means that nearly three out of four leaders are effectively saying, “We’re kind of winging it.”

It’s astonishing, despite having more data at our fingertips than ever, obtaining meaningful insights seems more challenging. We are inundated with numbers but starved for direction. While everyone is overwhelmed with metrics, very few pause to ask, “What do all these numbers mean?” or “Where are we truly headed?”

The strategy drought is real, and it manifests in cautious decision-making, conflicting priorities, and teams that are exceptionally busy but not necessarily making progress.

How Leaders Became Tactical Operators

How did we end up in this situation? How did visionary CEOs become glorified project managers?

Not long ago, leadership was all about vision, anticipating the future, identifying new opportunities, and dreaming up what comes next. Now, many leaders find themselves mired in the details.

They’re chasing down late invoices, reviewing expense reports, handling client escalations, and micromanaging tasks that shouldn’t even be on their radar.

Everything feels urgent, leading them to spend their days extinguishing fires instead of guiding their teams toward the future. It feels less like being a Chief Executive Officer and more like being a Chief Firefighter.

This shift didn’t happen overnight. Several factors contributed to this change. Technology has made everyone accessible 24/7, meaning leaders are never truly off the clock. Companies have become leaner and faster, which initially seemed efficient, but also resulted in leaders taking on more of the daily operational responsibilities. Additionally, there’s constant pressure to deliver this quarter's results, even when it jeopardizes long-term growth.

The outcome? A generation of leaders who excel at reacting but lack the time and energy for genuine strategic thinking. This dynamic is exhausting. Teams are experiencing burnout, and so are their leaders. We’ve equated being busy with being effective. The reality is that constant activity doesn’t equate to progress, nor does it signify strategic thinking.

The 3 Enemies of Strategic Thinking

Let’s identify the usual suspects. There are three major culprits quietly undermining your ability to think strategically every single day:

1. The Calendar Cram

If your calendar resembles a game of survival, you’re not alone. Most executives, including me, are booked solid, with every 15-minute slot accounted for weeks in advance. There’s no white space and no time to think, just one meeting after another.

In fact, one study found that CEOs spend about 60% of their time in meetings, yet nearly three-quarters of those meetings are deemed unproductive. We’ve come to equate a packed calendar with productivity, while empty spaces are often perceived as a sign of laziness. We’ve all been there when, on the odd week, our calendar is not “full”. The thoughts range from “thank goodness to what will my boss think to what’s going on?”.

The issue is that when your day is filled with calls and check-ins, you lack the opportunity to zoom out and actually think. You end up reacting all day instead of planning.

2. The Urgency Trap

This one is pervasive. Phrases like “I need this ASAP,” “Any update?” and “Can you jump on a quick call?” probably sound familiar. We’ve cultivated a culture where everything feels urgent, even when it’s not.

It creates a constant fire drill. When you’re always in firefighter mode, there’s little time for long-term thinking. Consequently, strategic projects get pushed aside as today’s minor crisis takes precedence. This leads to a cycle where we confuse being busy and frantic with being effective. However, that's just a misconception fostered by a culture of urgency.

The real problem arises in organizations where urgency is consistently turned up to maximum. Big ideas don’t get the time they need to develop. There’s no opportunity to consider, “Wait… should we even be doing this?” or “What’s our longer-term game plan?” When you’re always sprinting, you miss the chance to pause and change direction.

3. The Data Flood

We live in a world overflowing with metrics. Dashboards, real-time analytics, feedback surveys, reports, spreadsheets, you name it. While data is powerful, an excess of it can become another trap.

It’s easy to fall into analysis paralysis, overanalyzing numbers in so many ways that you lose sight of the bigger picture. Even worse, you might become obsessed with micro-metrics (like this week’s conversion rate) instead of addressing macro questions, such as, “Are we even playing the right game?”

Too often, we mistake data for insight. However, strategy isn’t just about understanding the numbers; it’s about making sense of them. That requires perspective, not just processing power.

Any one of these issues, calendar overload, urgency addiction, or data overwhelm, can derail your strategic focus. However, when they occur together, they create a perfect storm that keeps even the most astute leaders stuck in reactive mode, working hard but ultimately going nowhere.

Why This Is More Dangerous Than It Looks

Staying in reactive mode can feel productive, can’t it? You're addressing problems, sending off midnight emails, and keeping everything moving. It appears to be progress and feels like leadership.

However, the reality is that constant reactivity is akin to running on a treadmill. You're exerting effort, there’s no doubt about that, but you're not actually advancing. The business isn’t growing; it's merely surviving.

The more you chase today’s issues, the more you delay tomorrow’s opportunities. You miss significant chances because no one is scanning the horizon for potential challenges. Minor problems are often ignored until they escalate, as there is no time to address their root causes. You're heroically busy, but in reality, you’re just treading water.

This isn’t just a personal time-management issue; it’s also a strategic problem.

Look around. We’re operating in one of the most complex and fast-moving business environments we’ve ever seen. AI is reshaping entire industries, and customer behavior can change overnight. If you’re only ever reacting, you'll always lag behind, forced to adapt after the fact instead of leading the change.

An example is Instacart, which soared during the pandemic but failed to build a long-term strategy as customer behavior shifted. By the time it went public in 2023, its valuation had plunged, showing what happens when a company reacts to change instead of leading it.

That’s the risk: busyness creates a false sense of security. It makes us feel in control when we’re actually on the defense. Without a clear strategy, you’re essentially flying blind in a storm.

Sure, your team is working hard, but are they focusing on the right things? Probably not, at least not consistently. The cost? Wasted time and energy, leading to teams that experience burnout from constant whiplash and shifting priorities.

The truth is that the enemies of strategic thinking, calendar overload, urgency addiction, and data overwhelm aren’t just annoying; they are undermining your future. Step one is recognizing that. Step two? Regaining control.

Restoring Strategic Discipline: Practical Steps

Great news: you can break free from the urgency trap! Restoring strategic discipline might not be a walk in the park, but with some intentional habits, you can definitely regain control over your time and agenda. Let’s dive into some practical steps to help you along the way:

Block Off Thinking Time: This might sound basic, but trust me, it’s a game-changer. Schedule “thinking time” as if it were a crucial meeting. Start with a 2-hour slot once a week where you completely disconnect from the hustle and bustle of daily tasks, with no emails and no calls.

Use that time to brainstorm (don’t take a nap), reflect, read, become more informed about your industry and trends, or simply step back and think big. Guard that time like it’s gold! If someone tries to book you during that slot, just say you’re busy because you are! I find Friday mornings are perfect for this “thinking”.

By making this a routine, you signal to yourself and others that thinking is an integral part of the process. You’d be amazed at how much clarity comes when you regularly give yourself permission to think.

Ask Better Questions: Strategic thinking often kicks off with the right questions. Encourage yourself and your team to think beyond the usual “What do we need to do right now?” Start asking, “Why are we doing this?” or “How does this align with our long-term vision?”

For instance, instead of just asking, “How can we boost sales this quarter?” also consider, “What do our customers truly value, and are we delivering that?” or “What if we approached this completely differently?”.

By posing intriguing, fundamental questions, you’ll uncover insights that typical queries miss. Great strategies come from curiosity and challenging the status quo, so create a habit of exploring those “whys” and “what ifs” in meetings. Trust me, better questions lead to better answers.

Use Decision Journals: Think of a decision journal as your trusty sidekick for making smarter strategic choices. Here’s the scoop: whenever you make an important decision, jot down a quick note/email about what you decided, why you made that choice, and what you expect to happen.

Keep it simple, just a few thoughts on your rationale. Then, set a reminder to check back in 6 or 12 months for an after-action review. When you revisit it, ask yourself: Did it unfold as expected? What lessons can we take away?

This practice helps you clarify your thinking upfront and spot patterns in your decision-making over time. It’s like having a personal coach for your strategic choices. Over time, this will sharpen your judgment, reduce repeat mistakes, and boost the learning in your strategy process.

Audit for Strategic Debt: Just like organizations rack up technical debt with quick fixes that backfire later, you can accumulate strategic debt by sidelining long-term thinking.

Take a hard look at initiatives or lingering “temporary” solutions that don’t align with your current strategy, or worse, lack one altogether. Identify where you're doing things just because that’s how it’s always been done. I’ve seen most companies get stuck in some aspect of, “Well, we’ve always just done it that way.”.

Make a list of those strategic debt items. Then, tackle them systematically: either realign them with your strategy or phase them out altogether. Think of it as a spring cleaning for your business strategy.

By clearing away those misaligned activities, you can refocus on what truly matters. Committing to a strategic debt audit annually (or even quarterly) sets you up to regularly prune distractions and outdated directions. Remember, strategy isn’t something you set and forget; you have to actively maintain it, or risk drifting off course again.

Implementing these habits does take commitment. At first, it might feel a bit awkward to turn down meetings or push back on “urgent” tasks to protect your thinking time. However, keep in mind that as a leader, your true value shines in the direction and clarity you provide, not just the tasks you complete.

By blocking time, asking the big questions, documenting your decisions, and tackling strategic debt, you’re steering your schedule back toward high-value work. You’re bringing conscious thought into a space where autopilot usually reigns. Over time, these practices will help your organization respect strategic thinking as real work.

The Strategic Advantage No One Talks About

In today’s business world, where speed, hustle, and “always on” are worn like badges of honor, here’s a bold but true statement: slowing down to think is a serious competitive advantage.

It’s counterintuitive. Most leaders say they don’t have time to think. But that’s precisely why thoughtful, strategic leadership stands out. While others scramble from fire to fire, chasing the crisis of the day, you can be the one making clear, confident decisions that move the needle.

And here’s the kicker: the best strategic moves often look like “doing nothing.” Saying no to a shiny opportunity. Ignoring a vanity metric. Walking away from a trend that doesn’t fit the long game.

Michael Porter nailed it when he said, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” The real pros don’t just chase growth; they filter it. They prioritize with ruthless clarity.

Look at the companies that missed this:

Yahoo said yes to everything and became a cautionary tale.
Peloton chased pandemic demand without pausing to rethink long-term consumer behavior and got crushed when the tide turned.
Meta (Facebook) spent billions on the metaverse before realizing it had no clear strategic path. Meanwhile, TikTok ate its lunch on relevance and attention.

Compare that to Apple, which famously ignores market pressure until the timing and strategic alignment are right. Or Amazon, which thinks in decades, not quarters.

In a world where everyone’s reactive, thoughtfulness becomes a superpower. It’s not loud. It doesn’t show up on your KPI dashboard. But it shapes the big bets that win.

Want a real edge? Stop trying to keep up. Start thinking ahead. Protect your thinking time like your business depends on it, because it does.

Final Takeaway

At its core, leadership is about providing clear and intentional direction. While execution is important, you can’t just sit in a room dreaming up big ideas without rolling up your sleeves. It’s crucial to recognize that if you only react to what’s thrown at you and focus solely on checking boxes and handling urgent matters, you’re not truly leading; you’re merely managing.

The difference between a reactive manager and a strategic leader often boils down to one simple habit: making time to think.

Here’s a challenge for you: schedule a “strategy oasis” this week. Take just one hour and block it on your calendar like any other meeting. During this time, disconnect from emails and avoid responding to them.

Just you, a notebook, maybe a whiteboard, and one big question you’ve been putting off. What’s a goal you’ve ignored? A risk you haven’t had time to explore? An idea you keep meaning to revisit?

You may be surprised by what emerges during this hour. It could lead to a new direction, a smarter way forward, or simply provide the clarity you’ve been missing. Even if you use the time just to breathe and clear your head, that’s still a victory.

Now here’s the key: don’t let this be a one-time event. Make it a habit. Set aside one protected hour each week to step back and truly lead, not just execute. At times, it’s okay to involve a coach or a peer to bounce ideas off of.

The lost art of strategic thinking doesn’t have to remain lost; you can reclaim it, one quiet hour at a time. By doing so, you’ll think more clearly, lead more effectively, and demonstrate to your team that thoughtfulness isn’t a luxury, it’s an essential part of the job.

So go ahead, block the time, silence the noise, and allow yourself to think. Your future self will thank you, and so will your team.