What Should You Do If Scenario Planning Fails?

Scenario planning, as the name implies, relates to the notion of preparing everything ahead of time, examining prospective risks, profits, and repercussions, and developing ways to cope with them before they occur. It is critical for companies to plan out specific actions that not only solve the challenges at hand but also have a long-term influence on the organization. As a result, scenario planning has lately emerged as a critical component of corporate planning. However, no matter how knowledgeable the individuals engaged in the decision-making process are, there are still things that cannot be predicted, such as the Covid-19 epidemic, which would not have been predicted at any cost by anybody involved in decision-making at the time. As a result, there are undoubtedly flaws in scenario planning, and this Harvard Business Review article offers appropriate solutions to cope with such circumstances where scenario planning fails.

The first suggestion offered by the article is to broaden the scope of the scenarios under examination. According to the article, extending the number of scenarios under consideration to cover a bigger and more diverse collection of events is already being used within businesses to reduce the risk of making the wrong decision. As a result, the article proposes that broadening the scenarios under consideration should be followed by a discussion on which criteria will be critical if a similar sort of circumstance arises. Second, the article proposes viewing circumstances through the lens of vulnerabilities. While discussing potential vulnerabilities, the article suggests that unexpected events might occur; hence, firms should be able to easily calculate the financial reserves required to survive three months with a 50% sales decrease. The article additionally suggested developing firm action rules and improving internal communication. According to the article, firms should cultivate a practice of thoroughly comprehending and ensuring that everyone understands every issue and then effectively communicating it to avoid misconceptions. As a result, leaders must define the features of a crisis that necessitate this more deliberate method while establishing action plans. Finally, the article recommends incorporating crisis management into the organizational structure. This implies that if something were to happen to a corporation and ideas from scenario planning fail, a team or other resource should be in place to take over operations until a full work shift is adopted by all employees.

Though scenario planning has its own advantages, leaders must consider the disadvantages and act accordingly. The preceding are some suggestions to consider if the strategies generated via scenario planning fail.