In this essay published on the Stanford Social Innovation Review website, the authors argue for a reinvention of the strategic plan. They opt instead for what they call a model of adaptive strategy. In other words, one that comes from a continuous process of self-evaluation. They explain that while the concept of strategic planning may have been useful to businesses from the 1950s to the 1980s, it has since become obsolete.

A previous article written for the Harvard Business Review agrees and describes the new rules for living in the social era as collaborative, fast, and fluid, but not linear. They define this type of organizational structure as a form of collaborative strategy.

These themes run parallel to complexity theory which views organizations not as static structures but as complex and adaptive systems. It is hard to ignore the fact that businesses today are becoming increasingly dynamic, and organizational processes are bound to change.

What do you think? Are these types of organizational frameworks a thing of the past? Is the strategic plan dead?

I invite you to post any articles on our online Bulletin Board or you can reach me by email at sasha.caputo@rrps-nb-sprn.ca.