Whether you’re juggling the monthly marketing budget, trying to better communicate with employees, or dealing with a crisis at work, strategy is crucial. Every decision you make, large or small, can benefit from a more strategic approach, says Erika Andersen, an executive coach and author of the new book Being Strategic: Plan for Success; Out-think Your Competitors; Stay Ahead of Change (St. Martin’s Press).

According to Andersen, the road map for consistently making choices that move you toward your goals comes down to using a simple mental model. If practiced and turned to habit, she says, the approach will help you become truly strategic in everything you do. Here are the some of the core tenets of the book:

• Define the challenge. Getting clear about your core challenge is the essential foundation for being strategic. You must define the essence of the problem facing you so that everyone involved agrees on what needs to be addressed.

• Pull back the camera. Mentally step back from the situation so that you can evaluate all the critical elements relative to your challenge. Another strategic skill that starts to come into play in this step is being a “fair witness” — looking at the situation as it truly is, rather than how you want it to be.

• Create a reasonable aspiration. For most people, the fun part of being strategic is envisioning possibilities. But this step assures that you clarify the results you seek before moving forward. The reasoning is simple: If you don’t know where you’re going, it’s hard to know how to get there.

• Face the facts. Look very clearly at the obstacles that lie between you and your goal. You have to be clear about what you’ll need to get over, around, or through to achieve the future you’ve envisioned.

• Find the right path. This is the time to consider and select specific strategies that will form the core of your efforts. Then, you’ll decide on specific tactics that will best implement those strategies.