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Business planning reduces your learning

I've been reading the usual round of business journals and magazines and am constantly reminded of the need to do business planning. "if you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there", "we can't be all things to all people" etc etc etc.


I can't help thinking that much of this advice - ie the need to do business planning - is not entirely helpful in these uncertain and changing times. Certainly, we need good strategy when the environment is turbulent, but strategy is different to planning. And planning can also inhibit learning and adaptation - important attributes when things are changing.


So, what's the difference between planning and strategy? And how does planning limit learning and adaptation.

Planning is an event-driven process where we set an initial objective, and then pursue it via a program of action. The objective is set at the outset, and the action plan is a way of focusing our resources around a priority.


Strategy, on the other hand, is an ongoing, iterative process where the emphasis is on learning and adaptation. While we have a broad intention at the outset, detailed objectives are not set at the beginning - because (by definition) we we don't know what issues will be encountered along the way. Objectives emerge along the way as we learn and adapt. Consequently, strategy is better suited to uncertain and changing conditions where there is a need to learn and adapt to the changing environment.


So, when we undertake planning, we tend to focus almost single-mindedly on the objectives, trying ever harder to achieve them. This single-mindedness often drives out learning and adaptation. And this can be quite disastrous when things keep changing.



See my article for a fuller description of how to craft strategy in uncertain and changing environments.

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Part 3: Accelerate Performance With Strategic Alignment - Develop The Appropriate Culture

By Norman Chorn • March 27, 2023
In my previous article "Accelerate Performance with Strategic Alignment - Define the logic of your strategy", we demonstrated the alignment between the market and business strategy by matching the logic of the market with the logic of the strategy. The Explore logic emphasises a market where customers seek new solutions for emerging requirements. The strategy responds by exploring new opportunities and driving for growth. The Exploit logic occurs in a more stable market where customers seek lower costs and reliability of supply. The appropriate strategy focuses on operational efficiency and building close customer relationships. Culture is key to shaping the capabilities of the business to successfully implement strategy . It drives the way that people behave, decisions are made and actions are taken. It determines, therefore, the strategy that is actually realised in the market, as opposed to that which is merely intended. We make a key distinction between the desired culture and the appropriate culture. The desired culture is what people may choose because it sounds attractive and in vogue. However, the appropriate culture is the culture that is required to successfully implement the chosen strategy. Often, these can be different. For example, people might seek to develop a culture that is ‘innovative’, ‘flexible’ and ‘empowering’, but this may not be the appropriate culture needed to successfully implement the business strategy. DEVELOP THE APPROPRIATE CULTURE FOR YOUR STRATEGY Developing the appropriate culture requires a deliberate emphasis on certain cultural attributes and making trade-offs on others. As we will see, the attributes that are traded off are usually the opposites of those that are emphasised.
2 puzzle pieces

Part 2: Accelerate Performance with Strategic Alignment - Define the Logic of your Strategy

By Norman Chorn • March 27, 2023
In Part 1 "How to Accelerate Performance with Strategic Alignment - Understand the Logic of the Market" we outlined different market conditions and defined them in terms of two overarching logics — Exploring and Exploiting . To briefly recap, an Exploring logic is one where customers are seeking new solutions for emerging needs. It’s all about change and action. An Exploiting logic occurs in a more stable market in which the issues are about lowering costs and working collaboratively with customers. It’s a market that focuses on stability and cohesion. FORCES THAT SHAPE YOUR STRATEGY Clearly, it is one of these two logics — or a combination of both — that will shape your strategy as you operate in these markets. See figure 1 below that describes how these logics will form your business strategy:
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