Both strategic and operational planning are important, because the success of a company depends on creating new paths to the future as well as on implementing short term operational plans.
Engineering managers are expected to involve themselves in both strategic planning and operational planning. Both types of planning require forecasting and action planning. To regulate work, managers may also participate in issuing policies and establishing procedures. Among these planning activities, forecasting and strategic planning are difficult, as they involve making estimations of the future. The remaining planning activities related to policies and procedures are administrative or operational in nature. These activities are rather straightforward and should appear to be relatively easy to understand and implement. Doing extremely well in these administrative
tasks will not necessarily make a manager outstanding, but not doing well in them will project a negative image of the engineering manager.
To demonstrate managerial leadership, engineering managers need to be proficien in technology forecasting and strategic planning. Technology forecasting involves the critical evaluation and adaptation of emerging technologies so that the company's products and services offered to the marketplace become better, cheaper, and faster to
deliver. A primary opportunity for engineering managers to add value is to participate actively in creating technology projects affecting the company's future in major ways.