CEO Strategy: 5 steps to effective long range planning

In the shift-age,  people who function on the premise of “being in the know” are out of touch with reality.  Our world is changing so fast, knowing has become a liability.  Knowing encourages people to resist change.  Planning from a mindset of not knowing has a strategic advantage.  Developing processes for finding out and taking action faster than the competition, has replaced kplanning as the key to prospereity and survival. Rampant and unpredictable change has rendered  long range planning obsolete.  The following alternative to long range planning accommodates change. 

Step #1:  Imagine and document a preferred future.  Don’t be constrained by current realities—dream  your ideal.  If you are part of a team, ask members to develop an individual vision first.  Have member present a picture of their preferred future.  After you have heard from everybody, look for emerging themes.  Consolidate a vision that a critical mass of the group can accept as worth moving towards.

 Step #2:  Clarify your cultural values.  Reflect on fundamental beliefs that were essential to your  historical success (or lack of).  Then shift from past tense to the future tense and identify what beliefs would be needed to help you move towards the recently imagined vision.

Step #3:  Compare values from the past to values needed for future success:  Start with what has worked and add or modify to meet the future’s challenge.  Consolidate your thoughts into three or four words that catch the essence of beliefs that have been expressed.  Examples of commonly occurring core values are; integrity, quality, service, trust, responsiveness, innovation, and caring.

Step #4:  Establish behavioral boundaries:  The three or four words you have just selected to express your cultural values will be used like suitcases to carry an ever changing array of guidelines, rules and policies.  The benefit of using single words to identify your cultural-values is the ability to update content (process, rules etc.) without having to change cultural-values suitcases. 

Step #5:  Ask members what they would need to see more or less of to prove that the declared values are being lived.  Dialogue is more important than agreement in the visioning process because cultural-values are most effective when they are used to trigger creativity and generate energy.  The power of cultural-values is diminished when they are used to control.

Conclusion:  Visioning brings something worth moving towards into focus.  It establishes the equivalent of a “north star”—a super ordinate marker to help navigate in turbulent times. When plans must change to accommodate twists and turns (a shift-age norm), your can adjust without feeling lost or losing heart.