As we bring 2025 to an end, volatility seems to be our new normal. The past five years have been fraught with continuous change. Starting with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we have faced social, political, economic, and technological upheavals. Disruptions are happening at faster and faster rates.
All of this means that strategic planning can become more difficult and that organizations are now considering shorter planning cycles. Could strategic planning even become irrelevant?
Vincent Strategies CEO Dr. Greg Vincent says, “We would argue that our ever-changing world makes planning more important than ever for an organization’s resilience. We’ve always maintained that strategic plans are fluid, living documents—vital guides for continuous adaptation and growth.”
Without strategic planning, organizations risk being reactive instead of proactive, always making decisions under pressure rather than with foresight.
Best approaches for strategic planning in a volatile environment:
- Embrace agility and flexibility – Design your strategic plan to handle the accelerating pace of change, unpredictability and disruptions.
- Implement scenario planning – Prepare for multiple potential futures and proactively develop responses to those possibilities.
- Focus on strategic foresight and data analysis – Invest in analytics, real-time data, and continuous environmental scanning.
- Build resilience to endure downturns, recover quickly from setbacks, and change course when required – diversify offerings, programs, and revenue streams, build strategic partnerships, and develop robust risk management frameworks.
- Plan for monitoring and adaptation – You’ll need regular performance reviews, continuous monitoring of internal and external environments, and feedback mechanisms to learn from your experience.
“The organizations that will thrive in our volatile world are those that view strategic planning not as a static exercise but as an ongoing conversation about where they’re headed and how they’ll get there,” explains Vincent.
Strategic planning in uncertain times requires courage and conviction. It means making decisions with incomplete information, embracing calculated risks, and maintaining the discipline to revisit and revise your strategy regularly. The alternative—operating without a plan—leaves your organization vulnerable to being swept along by external forces rather than charting its own course.
In times of volatility, the question isn’t whether to plan, but how to plan differently. Organizations that master adaptive strategic planning will not only survive uncertainty, but they’ll find opportunities within it, positioning themselves to emerge stronger when stability returns. Vincent Strategies is here to help you.