Question

Respond to the following statement by John P Kotter (1999): “One of the most frequent mistakes that overamanaged and underled corporations make is to embrace long term planning as a panacea for their lack of direction and inability to adapt to an increasingly competitive and dynamic business environment.

Answer 1

It is true in the sense that long term planning takes a lot of time and resources. When environment is dynamic and competition is cut throat, it is important to implement changes in the plan. Long term planning may become a burdensome activity as plans need to be reworked continuously and companies cannot stick to one plan. Companies which lacks direction may come up with short term plans which may also seem like taking too much of time and energy. When there is lack of vision, every plan may seem like a contingency plan only. Focus may not be on essential elements.

Therefore, it is important to have direction first in the business as planning always complement business with direction. Due to lack of direction, managers become cynical and planning process becomes a highly politicized game.