In the age of GPS, who needs a road map? In the age of short term bumps and market shifts, why even bother with the long view?

Strategic planning is not so much about looking down the road and plotting your next move, but using the long perspective to sharpen the tools we use today to get there. That “road” won’t be the same by the time you arrive at the intersection, but you would know what to make of the resurfaced terrain.

We think about this all the time, here at the Decision Theater. We call it Scenario Planning, which is slightly more complex than strategic planning. Why? Because it involves systems thinking, and gives you (the client) a look at different what-if scenarios that help refine the one plan you eventually settle for.

I recently came across Dennis McDonald’s A short definition of strategic planning that took into consideration social media.

But the best definition of scenario planning I have seen comes from the World Economic Forum, which says thus:

“Scenarios are stories about the future. They are not attempts to predict the future; rather, they aim to sketch the boundaries of the plausible.”

Road maps, both the folded street versions and business kinds, are not always inspiring. Scenarios have inbuilt stories that people could relate to.