See the Future with Scenario Planning

Many in business will recognize this all too common story….  

An executive has a stated goal for the successful future of the company, and a desire to make decisions that will promote the necessary growth. The leadership team identifies functional issues that impede such growth but are not always able to communicate these concerns. The exec gets frustrated with the lack of information and clarity on key decisions needed and the leadership team is frustrated by a less than ideal environment to build the business.

Fortunately, there’s a better way. 

Enter scenario planning.

At its essence, scenario planning exists to offer leadership teams alternative views of the future, driving clarity on what needs to be done and when, while navigating potential roadblocks. Long-term strategies, in particular, benefit from the use of scenario planning.

Perhaps the most helpful contribution of well-formed scenario planning is that it brings all the information to the table to be considered. This is no small thing, for there are often competing points of view between executives and leadership teams. Scenario planning allows all viewpoints to be seen in light of the 30,000-foot-view goals of the business. This is perhaps most powerful function of scenario planning. Businesses are able to rally around the main goal of the organization, rather than falling into the all-too-common infighting between executives and leadership teams. Often, executives feel as if they lack the pertinent information to make the best decisions for the company. Likewise, leadership teams responsible for implementing vision often feel unheard. Scenario planning gives executives ample information, and gives a voice to leadership teams and their points of view.

The result is a peek into the possible futures of a company, and resulting parameters like cost, margin, inventory, potential market share, and increases or decreases in revenue based on one possible strategy versus another.