2.8.4 Small but Sure Steps
To be effective in planning, managers should (1) identify clearly the desired end results and the series of small steps required to reach them, (2) allow a timely control and midcourse correction, if needed, and (3) aim at attaining a series of small progressions (or continuous improvements) that are more acceptable in many old-style companies than one large achievement (or a step change) after a long period of time. On the other hand, some start-up companies with an entrepreneurial spirit may be able to exercise patience, take risks, and go for "blow-the-roof-off" breakthrough technologies and step-change products or services. Managers need to adjust accordingly.
2.8.5 Contingency Planning
As discussed before, strategic planning for the future entails considerable risks and uncertainties. Some of the changes in future conditions are unpredictable. Yet strategic planning for the future must be done today. Besides striving for acquiring hard data and soft information to continuously validate the assumptions introduced in the planning, managers should take an additional risk-modulating step: study exhaustively the sensitivity of various assumptions to the company business and incorporate conting ency steps, including fallback positions, in order to minimize the adverse impact of questionable assumptions (Childs 2002).