Malcolm Follos outlines how strategic scenario planning can help businesses recover post-pandemic.

The global pandemic has created a fog of uncertainty which has engulfed most organisations. Doubling down on costs, shortening planning horizons and troubleshooting the real issues and challenges required to survive, has been the order of the day around the private sector world. This is a totally understandable short term reaction to the threats C-19 created.

This tyranny of the present is at last beginning to abate. As lock-down measures begin to ease across the UK and Northern Europe, leaders are beginning to view the road ahead and are wondering how and where they can get the foresight required to ensure their organisation never again gets caught so unprepared.

Headwinds from the Future

Have been blowing into the face of leaders for sometime. These winds of change have been coming from several directions. Increased use of technology has opened up global markets and of course global competition, and have enabled more attractive ways of working to become possible for many. The growing demand for people to live a more balanced life is nothing new. This coupled with increased political instability, climate change challenges and pressures within society to re-balance wealth and opportunity have all been gathering force into a keen headwind for change. This was being felt even before the tornado that is Covid-19 hit.

Agile organisations that have been lucky enough to exist in high demand markets with little threat to their current operating models will survive and are thriving. They have quickly moved to pivot their skills, operating models and assets to capitalise on the new and emerging opportunities the C-19 crisis has created. Those not in such a fortunate position have been left in a Darwinian struggle with the stark choice of innovate; hibernate or liquidate.

Those leaders that are beginning to lift their heads from the brutal reality of the last few months are now looking at the road ahead and are wondering how to avoid such a stark set of choices in the future. Luckily there is a process that can help.

Strategic Scenario Planning

This process has been around for several years. We have helped many organisations derive lessons from the future using our proven Playmaker skills, planning and ideation tools and scenario planning techniques. As a process for building organisational resilience, there is no better approach and it’s time is now!

Our tailored strategic scenario planning process will deliver insights designed to ensure your organisation is more resilient. Our process involves helping you understand the headwinds and tailwinds that are blowing through your organisation now and working with you, deduce the risks these winds pose for your future sustainability. We will then help craft some multiple futures, bringing them to life with artefacts of the new reality to help immerse a cross-section of your strategic thinkers in these new, potent, future worlds.

Using people from each of your key functional areas across your business model and balancing Game Changers; Strategists; Implementers and Polishers we use our Playmaker skills to help you derive insights and strategies that prepare and protect your organisation against future threats.

Embed into Business as Usual

One of the many lessons the C-19 crisis has taught us, is that this strategic scenario planning process should not be a one off event, triggered by an unusual competitor activity, market regulation shift, merger or acquisition; etc. It has to become part of your ‘business as usual’ processes if you do not want to be caught unawares again.

Listening Posts and Watchtowers need to be installed. Their job is to scan the horizons to give early warning of which of the potential alternative futures your organisation may face are beginning to emerge from the current fog of uncertainty.

Success favours the minds that are prepared and our strategic scenario planning process will help you build a safeguard into your organisation that gives you the very best chance of surviving and emerging from future threats in great shape.

For more details on how we can help your leaders learn from the future please contact Malcolm Follos.

Contact Malcolm at [email protected]

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