“It is spring 1941, the world is at war!”

Strategic insights are invaluable in life and in business, but who has the time for it?

For as long I can remember, I’ve enjoyed playing board games. Not the simple stuff mind you, but involved games that require more skill than luck or chance—games like Catan, Chess and Axis & Allies, a favorite of my youth. My father would not echo this sentiment because I beat him on a routine basis for most of my childhood. Sorry, Dad.

Axis & Allies depicts WWII on a grand scale. The game board consists of a map of the world with nearly every country in play except neutral territories. For those of you who failed your World History in high school, the Axis represents Germany, Italy and Japan, and the Allies are comprised of USA, the United Kingdom and the USSR. The game features a literal army of plastic miniatures that represent various military units during WWII, and it starts at the height of WWII when the fate of the world hung in the balance.

Playing Axis and Allies requires a level of commitment, which includes just setting up the game! Gameplay itself can last 3 to 5 hours. Who has that kind of time in today’s world?! Mobile has captured much of the gaming market today, and many games now take no longer than a few minutes to play. Strategy indeed.

The foundation of strategic thinking is establishing the ability to think strategically.

I love this statement because it states the obvious. You must make adecision, a proactive choice, to embrace strategic thinking. Full disclaimer: I am often unimpressed when engaging fellow colleagues on this topic about their businesses. Their excuses are plentiful:

• “I started writing an outline of a business plan somewhere at some point.”
• “We tried to make an operating budget for the year, but we didn’t finish it.”
• “What is a strategic plan?”
• “My dog ate my homework.”

And so on and so forth.

You have to start somewhere. Find balance. Be proactive. Make the time. Commit to it.

I don’t have much sympathy for professionals that fail to integrate strategy in their daily work lives. It is a choice after all. We all get the same number of hours in the day

I’m practicing what I preach, and what I will do is start is a meetup to give people an option to embrace change. I’m calling the meetup, “Smoky Characters: Business Strategy, Mezcal & Fun.”

Consider this blog post open call for professionals with an entrepreneurial bent who are interested in participating in an evening of sharp discourse on business strategy, buoyed by the mezcal spirit. If you are driven to be successful on your own terms are comfortable with open debate, and relish the opportunity to kickback with cocktail glass in hand, then please attend.

We will meet once a month, on the 3rd Thursday, at Teote Mezcalería (2700 NE Alberta) from 5:30 to 7 PM. Each gathering will feature a focal point of discussion. The session will be casually moderated to help ensure flow. Supporting materials will be distributed earlier in the week, and a summary of the evening will be posted online the following day.

Are you a business owner, entrepreneur or executive willing to embrace strategy today for a better tomorrow?

I’d like to hear more about your personal journey. Join us for the 1st meeting of Smoky Characters at Teote Mezcalería on Thursday, May 17th @ 5:30 PM. Attendance is optional. However, I hope you’ll make a strategic choice.