Strategic Planning is About Looking Externally and Finding Routes to Growth

The Business Trendsetter Podcast

Do you plan for 2022 and beyond by looking at 2021 and backward? How does that make any sense? When Blockbuster Video built its future plans based on past success, where did it end up? In the movie "Cannonball Run" one of the racers rips the rear view mirror off the car, throws it out the window and says "What's behind me is not important!" And the same can be said about your business. Your company's future is not created, nor limited, by its past. Your future is whatever you want it to be! But you MUST align with trends.

This podcast overviews the right approach to strategic planning. Like Amazon and Virgin, you should identify big trends, then develop strategies to leverage those trends - even if it moves you far from your historical "core" technologies, capabilities, markets or customers. The future is not likely to look like the past, but understanding trends and unmet, or under-served, needs. Figure out how you help customers meet their needs, and you're on the road to growth. Tesla is planning for 50%/year growth for the next SEVERAL years - do you have a similar high growth plan? Listen to this podcast to learn how!

Thinking points:

• Do you have a plan to $1B of incremental annual revenue? If not, why not?
• Do you start planning using current customers and current solutions? If so, how do you ever get to new opportunities?
• Do you have specific big trends you monitor for planning, and apply to your strategic planning?
• Do you have a robust future scenario you use to develop your plans, or are you planning without a target? Planning without guardrails toward success?