Many businesses and nonprofit organizations that I communicate with have decided to put any long-range or strategic planning on hold. Most often the economics of hiring a consultant are given as the main reason. Some clients are moving in-house by using a self-facilitated process where a board member or volunteer leads the effort. I applaud those who are still thinking about the future and wonder about the organizations that exist only in the day-to-day mode.
All of this came full circle last week when both planes that I was scheduled to fly on encountered mechanical issues while in the pre-flight stage. Neither was especially alarming but it re-enforce the status of the airline industry. New orders for planes are being deferred and new aerospace technologies are being considered but few are being implemented at the moment. What is going to happen when everyone feels the need to expand or ramp back-up? The deferred maintenance and investment in new aircraft is going to create a backlog that will arguably take a decade to clear.
What are the opportunities that your enterprise is missing because you are no longer holding planning sessions or scheduling retreats? How much is the day-to-day oversight of the balance sheet taking bandwidth from the organization’s ability to think strategically? It is as if everyone abandoned the wheel house to run down to the engine room to keep the power up but nobody is watching the seas. Who is in you Crow’s Nest scanning the horizon? If they exist, have you spoken with them recently?
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