Rocket Science?
Not really.
How does scenario planning work in actual practice? Is it something that anyone can do, or do you need a doctorate in futurology, five years of apprenticeship at the feet of a master, nerves of steel, and a pilot’s license?
The answer is that you can gain many of the basic benefits of scenario planning on your own, without adult supervision. However, as with any intellectual process, experience and expertise are very valuable when it comes to scenario planning, so even though it’s not necessary to post a warning (e.g., “Do not try this at home!”), it’s not a bad idea to have some expert help if you want to get the most out of it.
In this part of the book, we’ll explore the process, and you’ll see that it’s possible to generate some solid scenario work without a PhD. (I will have to be careful not to give away too many trade secrets, though, or the International Brotherhood of Scenario Planners may send me a nasty letter. Or worse, revoke my membership.)
THE PROCESS
There is no fixed, here’s-how-you-do-it rulebook for conducting a scenario planning process or workshop. There are a lot of variations, and many experts have developed their own proprietary approaches, so each exercise is likely to be somewhat different, depending on the preferred methodology and experience of the experts facilitating the discussion.
However, even though there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, the scenario planning process as conducted by most experts usually proceeds according to a similar logic, which means…which means that it is likely to include some variation of the following six steps:
1. Framing the challenge
2. Gathering information
3. Identifying driving forces
4. Defining the future’s critical “either/or” uncertainties
5. Generating the scenarios
6. Fleshing them out and creating story lines
By following this procedure, you will end up with a number of detailed scenarios. Now you have to do something with them, which requires an additional couple of steps if you want the scenarios to result in something of practical value:
7. Validating the scenarios and identifying further research needed
8. Assessing their implications and defining possible responses
9. Identifying signposts
10. Monitoring and updating the scenarios as time goes on
What this all comes down to is using the scenarios to help you develop a better strategic plan.
Who is involved?
Scenario planning is almost always done as a group exercise, with the group ranging anywhere from 9 or10 up to perhaps 30 participants. One facilitator can handle a group of about a dozen: after that , it’s advisable to have additional facilitators, as the process works best by breaking the group into smaller working teams for certain steps. Each team ought to have somebody hovering nearby to coach them.
Choosing the actual participants is an important task needing some real consideration. If the scenario planning is to have the greatest potential value,then the people who help create the scenario should be open, intelligent,motivated,imaginative and strategic thinkers.
But that’s not all They also need to be good communicators--able to formulate ideas and also to explain them clearly to the others. The group also needs to include people who represent different perspectives and interests. This diversity of experience and point of view is crucial. Without it,there can be a tendency for the group to fall in line with the thinking of the boss. Other stakeholders involved keeps everybody true to their interests and viewpoints.
Last,the people chosen to participate in a scenario planning exercise should be individuals who are well respected. This point cannot be overemphasized. Within the group, you cannot afford to have participants whom the others don’t find credible, or whose contribution to the various discussions will already be discounted before they even open their mouths. This doesn’t mean that everyone has to be a senior vice president.(in fact, it’s better if everyone is not a senior vice president.) but even if nine hierarchical levels separate the highest-ranking member of the group from the lowest-ranking member, all of the participants need to have respect for each other’s position and opinions
Another important reason for assuring that the group consists of individuals who command some respect is to make buy-in easier when the results are communicated to the rest of the organization, the public, or other stakeholders. Remember that scenario planning is a tool that ultimately helps you make big decisions about the future direction of your organization. That means a lot is potentially at stake,for many people.When they are first exposed to the scenario planning results,it’s natural that some people may conclude that they will be big “winners” in the future; others will see themselves as “losers” A well-respected scenario planning team can dispel this idea..or,as the case may be, make bad news easier to swallow.
Rocket Science?Not really.How does scenario planning work in actual practice? Is it something that anyone can do, or do you need a doctorate in futurology, five years of apprenticeship at the feet of a master, nerves of steel, and a pilot’s license?The answer is that you can gain many of the basic benefits of scenario planning on your own, without adult supervision. However, as with any intellectual process, experience and expertise are very valuable when it comes to scenario planning, so even though it’s not necessary to post a warning (e.g., “Do not try this at home!”), it’s not a bad idea to have some expert help if you want to get the most out of it.In this part of the book, we’ll explore the process, and you’ll see that it’s possible to generate some solid scenario work without a PhD. (I will have to be careful not to give away too many trade secrets, though, or the International Brotherhood of Scenario Planners may send me a nasty letter. Or worse, revoke my membership.)THE PROCESSThere is no fixed, here’s-how-you-do-it rulebook for conducting a scenario planning process or workshop. There are a lot of variations, and many experts have developed their own proprietary approaches, so each exercise is likely to be somewhat different, depending on the preferred methodology and experience of the experts facilitating the discussion.However, even though there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, the scenario planning process as conducted by most experts usually proceeds according to a similar logic, which means…which means that it is likely to include some variation of the following six steps: 1. Framing the challenge
2. Gathering information
3. Identifying driving forces
4. Defining the future’s critical “either/or” uncertainties
5. Generating the scenarios
6. Fleshing them out and creating story lines
By following this procedure, you will end up with a number of detailed scenarios. Now you have to do something with them, which requires an additional couple of steps if you want the scenarios to result in something of practical value:
7. Validating the scenarios and identifying further research needed
8. Assessing their implications and defining possible responses
9. Identifying signposts
10. Monitoring and updating the scenarios as time goes on
What this all comes down to is using the scenarios to help you develop a better strategic plan.
Who is involved?
Scenario planning is almost always done as a group exercise, with the group ranging anywhere from 9 or10 up to perhaps 30 participants. One facilitator can handle a group of about a dozen: after that , it’s advisable to have additional facilitators, as the process works best by breaking the group into smaller working teams for certain steps. Each team ought to have somebody hovering nearby to coach them.
Choosing the actual participants is an important task needing some real consideration. If the scenario planning is to have the greatest potential value,then the people who help create the scenario should be open, intelligent,motivated,imaginative and strategic thinkers.
But that’s not all They also need to be good communicators--able to formulate ideas and also to explain them clearly to the others. The group also needs to include people who represent different perspectives and interests. This diversity of experience and point of view is crucial. Without it,there can be a tendency for the group to fall in line with the thinking of the boss. Other stakeholders involved keeps everybody true to their interests and viewpoints.
Last,the people chosen to participate in a scenario planning exercise should be individuals who are well respected. This point cannot be overemphasized. Within the group, you cannot afford to have participants whom the others don’t find credible, or whose contribution to the various discussions will already be discounted before they even open their mouths. This doesn’t mean that everyone has to be a senior vice president.(in fact, it’s better if everyone is not a senior vice president.) but even if nine hierarchical levels separate the highest-ranking member of the group from the lowest-ranking member, all of the participants need to have respect for each other’s position and opinions
Another important reason for assuring that the group consists of individuals who command some respect is to make buy-in easier when the results are communicated to the rest of the organization, the public, or other stakeholders. Remember that scenario planning is a tool that ultimately helps you make big decisions about the future direction of your organization. That means a lot is potentially at stake,for many people.When they are first exposed to the scenario planning results,it’s natural that some people may conclude that they will be big “winners” in the future; others will see themselves as “losers” A well-respected scenario planning team can dispel this idea..or,as the case may be, make bad news easier to swallow.
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