Strategic Planning in Uncertain Times

Economic development strategic planning is something that every community should do regardless of what the current economic conditions are. Planning for your community’s future doesn’t have to be an exercise in futility or anxiety. Today’s planning may be different than it has in past years because today is a completely different environment than it was in past years. Here are three tips to take into the strategic planning process:

• Be realistic and look at all outcomes – In a highly uncertain environment, it is necessary to develop plans on the assumption that several different futures are possible and to focus attention on the underlying drivers of uncertainty. For example, let’s say your community’s largest employer is an industrial supplier that is highly involved with commercial and residential real estate but also has many government customers. The future for this company and its impact on your community depend on a variety of uncertainties, including construction, housing prices, government stimulus programs etc. It will be important to look at the different outcomes that may be presented to this company and how that will affect your community.
  
• Increase monitoring – Keeping with the example above, depending on how events unfold, the industrial supplier could make a variety of different moves. Ensure your strategic planning has a built in monitoring system that will evaluate current and future indicators so that you are not behind the eight ball. You need to keep up-to-date on what is happening and be able to respond accordingly.
  
• Look beyond the current situation – the economic change now underway will be a continuous unfolding event. It will not remain static and you need to make sure your strategic planning is balanced enough to work through current conditions while being ready to take immediate action as things change. This year’s strategic planning process is a time to evaluate the strategies the current crisis has helped, hurt or failed.

Developing strategies in greater depth, monitoring indicators more rigorously, and remaining focused on the long term will help to boost the odds of creating a plan that can assist your community through the uncertainty.