At a minimum, planning requires inputs from across the organization, resulting in a roadmap that articulates how an organization intends to achieve its goals and objectives. The plan itself is both a strategic document and a financial snapshot, a moment-in-time manifesto that is based on keen insights and essential intelligence about the business, including past performance, sales forecasts, marketing goals and other key metrics.
The pandemic has made it clear that the future is not linear, and that “one-and-done” decision making, based on a singular perspective, is inadequate given the scope of the crisis. Shifting realities are the norm, and decisions are being stress-tested like never before. In a new world that’s characterized by volatility and ambiguity, leaders need a broad, multidimensional understanding of the potential impacts of disruptive events on their businesses.
Preparing for an unknowable future requires the ability to envision the future from a number of plausible—not necessarily probable—scenarios. Think of scenarios as nuanced what-if stories that can be used to explore questions about the most critical uncertainties impacting the business.
Scenario planning looks different for every business, but regardless of what area of operations you’re focused on, it’s important to identify and evaluate theto be taken should a particular scenario occur—and to know how to recognize potential triggers and trends that signal a scenario is imminent. Decision makers also need to look at scenarios from different time horizons.