The five-year plan as a strategic framework may have reached its sell-by date.
“A study from Deloitte Center for the Edge that tracked the performance of all U.S. public companies for the past half-century found that performance on average — measured in terms of return on assets — has declined by more than 75 percent since 1965. If the goal of strategic planning is to at least maintain financial performance over time, the findings suggest current methods may not be working. It may be time to adopt a new model, one that keeps one eye on the long term and another on the present: the zoom out, zoom in approach.
"This strategy, which has been used by many successful digital companies, focuses on two timelines working in parallel. The first timeline looks ahead 10 to 20 years, eyeing market changes and potential disruptions. The other targets a six- to 12-month period, seeking to build areas that could support the longer-term view and shed those that do not. Executives alternate their focus between the two.”
Article: Take a Zoom Out, Zoom In Approach to Business Strategy.