Bring the Future to the Present: Scenario Planning Methodology
How can leaders create a strategy in a world of risk and uncertainty?
Leaders in today’s world are tasked with acting in the midst of tremendous amounts of risk and uncertainty, which can make decision making and strategic planning increasingly difficult. In times of unpredictability, studies show that leaders either make short-term based decisions, leaving billions of dollars of untapped potential, or they look to past experiences to inform the present. But effective judgement is hard to come by when our present circumstances don’t resemble anything we’ve experienced in the past. A scenario planning methodology is a great way to prepare.
In these situations, Clarkston’s “Bring the Future to the Present” (BF2P) methodology can help lay out potential scenarios that will allow you to envision what the future might hold. This scenario planning methodology will set up plausible futures that you can inhabit to determine what your organization will need to be successful. By doing this with various potential futures, you can determine what the key themes are that allow you to be successful – no matter what the future holds.
By using the BF2P methodology, strategic foresight becomes a key factor to future achievements. “Bring the Future to the Present” eliminates the problem of not having past experiences to draw from when making decisions, and instead, enables you to learn from the future. In times of uncertainty, it’s critical for leaders to have a future-based strategy to foster organizational growth and transformation.
