If the present isn’t comparable to anything we’ve experienced, and we don’t know what the future holds - how do we formulate the new robust strategy?
It all starts with the assessment of the current strategy and the potential result from its implementation. Followed by the identification of the forces shaping the market and prediction of the future operating conditions.
And then:
imagine a variety of different, plausible futures 5, 10, 20 years from now.
approach your future as your project scenario, being aware that it’s just one of the many potential futures.
isolate useful strategies across multiple possible futures and ask your self - what should we be doing Now that would enable us to operate better in that particular future?
Implement these strategies by definition of concrete initiatives and formulation of how those will advance the company.
Repeating this practice as a way of working will establish a moving loop between the present and multiple imagined futures. This will help to adjust and update your strategies continually. Not all the initiatives will be executed, but the approach will establish a forward-looking practice and collaboration through a common language while discussing the future and building the support for the idea. It will provide a platform for the implementation when the need becomes clearer.
Recent months have thought us that needs, assumptions and expectations can change quickly and unpredictably. Preparing for the future demands constant reappraisal. To be able to adapt and exploit the situation we need to constantly explore and innovate.