Author
Lou Gerstner
Year
1972
Can Strategic Planning Pay Off?
Lou Gerstner 1972. (View Paper → )
But the fact remains that in the large majority of companies corporate planning tends to be an academic, ill-defined activity with little or no bottom-line impact. Observations of many companies wrestling with the strategic-planning concept strongly suggest that this lack of real payoff is almost always the result of one fundamental weakness, namely, the failure to bring strategic planning down to current decisions
Practical thoughts on strategy inspired by this paper:
- Focus on actionable decisions rather than just creating documents, plans and forecasts.
- Identify and address 5-6 critical issues facing the company. Pay attention to competitive strategies, market trends, and broader environmental forces.
- Evaluate competitive strategies.
- Develop "what if" scenarios for major risks or opportunities.
- Assess external environmental forces and trends.
- Involve key decision-makers in the strategy process.
- Conduct rigorous strategic reviews to challenge the validity of product strategies.
- Create guidelines for pruning/divesting declining businesses
- Reward good strategic decision-making, not just short-term results
- Be prepared to adjust strategies based on changing market conditions or new information