Summary:

Tools like Web 2.0 have made it easier for businesses to gather input from a wide variety of stakeholders, effectively putting all management decisions up for a vote with customers and employees. Ideas from outsiders are great, but should not be a substitute for the experience and knowledge of strong leaders- especially when it comes to strategy. Businesses are not, and should not be democracies.

Strategists should use the tools available, however a strategist also needs to; a) Help anticipate the discontinuous change; b) Develop scenarios in advance so as to be prepared when change occurs; c) Help the company to become proactive in change and help bring about change in a fashion which disproportionately benefits your company.  The general public lacks these skills because they generally have limited knowledge about the specific situation and their ideas are biased towards their limited perspective.

Article Quote:

“Suggestions from the masses tend to be extensions of what they know, which is the old business model. They are not very useful in proactively getting to the discontinuous new. And unfortunately, the discontinuous new is all around us. This is where professional strategists are most valuable.”

Link:http://planninga-from-nanninga.blogspot.com/2009/12/strategic-planning-analogy-301.html

The latest fancy new tools or trends should not be a replacement for Strategists. Strategists are necessary and many companies rely on their expert advise when developing their strategic plans. However, businesses should create an environment that fosters ’strategic thinking’ by everyone in the company because it adds value to the entire organization.

Tactical implementation of strategic plans are almost entirely executed by front-line people within the organization. Thus, getting everyone to start thinking strategically can better enable then to anticipate potential threats and obstacles before it reaches a critical point. It also makes your people better problem solvers and more responsive to changing customer needs.

For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/