Jamie Notter has a great line on strategic planning in his blog today:
Talk about planning. Talk about strategy. Do NOT talk about strategic planning.
Beautiful summation. I’ve always had some discomfort with the declaration that strategic planning is dead, in that it was never clear what exactly you’re supposed to do instead. The answer that feels best to me so far is that you divorce the two, as Jamie so clearly put it.
David, don’t be uncomfortable with acknowledging the death of strategic planning just because it creates a void. Think of the void as an opportunity to embrace variety in how we think about, talk about and act on creating a more vibrant future. The key idea is that strategic planning simply has outlived its usefulness. What comes next is up to us!
I think what I had issue with was the implication that strategy is dead. Not what you and others intend, I think, by saying SP is dead but quite often there is not a follow up that clear strategic thinking is still valuable and needed.