There is a saying that all plans are a bit useless after all because there is always something unforeseen, but that is why the activity of planning itself is the most useful practice for our business.
It’s about dealing with unknowns, and making decisions when so much is unknown, which shows how robust we are. Overcoming challenges and the ability to change is the most common indicator of our resourcefulness and forethought. That’s why planning is important – it trains us according to that robustness. If we can manage in a thought experiment, it is realistic that we will manage when the situation comes. By thinking only within one narrative we lose perspective. Namely, narratives shape behavior and paradigms. And the real world doesn’t function in an orderly narrative sense, as is the case in stories.
It is therefore useful to think through as many different narratives and perspectives as possible. Through the widest possible alternatives, we see more options – and we need them all. Because there is no ‘one right’ choice. There is only an optimal choice for us. A good enough choice is a great choice. An extremely high-quality tool, which the business has been using for half a century, is scenario planning.
If you are interested in how to plan for the next 6 months, a year, three years, we recommend that you try this tool where we look at our business, and answer the question ‘what to do if?’, Through 3 different scenarios (narratives).
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Sources:
Vodič kroz scenario planning. (2020, December 8). Podrška poduzetnicima. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.podrska-poduzetnicima.hr/clanak/vodic-kroz-scenario-planning.
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