Planning: Strategy or chaos?

How often do you participate in a planning process in your business, lab, office, department, unit or university? Ever contribute to a “strategy session?” Have you ever read the strategic plan you’re supposed to be contributing to?

As a student of strategy, I’ve come to the conclusion that our plans often don’t align with reality. Great things happen that were never contained in a plan, and great plans more easily fail than succeed. As one who is supposed to plan, organize and think ahead for the university, I’d like to do better. But how?

I’m studying planning and strategy again but searching for theory that matches reality. Despite the best plans, planners, planning, consultants and analysts, it seems results come from what appears to be chaos (or what Henry Mintzberg tactfully labels “emergent strategies”) rather than strategy. Examples abound across this the university and across the state.

Though planned for nearly two decades, how did the Life Sciences Center suddenly get built? How did mohela suddenly take on new meaning? How did “economic development” suddenly become the fourth mission of the university in 2003, ultimately resulting in a new vice president position; Express Scripts building its world headquarters on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus; and Discovery Ridge transitioning from thoughts in people’s heads to reality? It is not just politics, money or power that changes the future; it is also the recognition of innovative ideas and people willing to champion their success.

As a community, university and state wanting to cope and master change, how can we build into our planning, culture and organizational structure an acknowledgment that we can’t predict the future, that innovation occurs at the margin of our disciplines and that our university is critical as the economy becomes ever-more knowledge-based?

A real-life item on my to-do list is the issue of how to facilitate the development of innovative themes that emerge simultaneously but are scattered across the state, with no relationship, structure or administrative linkage. Examples:

Regionalism. While everyone is recognizing the rise of “regionalism” and “clusters” as a powerful driver in business, technology, tourism and the economy, how can we take advantage of that trend in Missouri? There is no place in the country where “down south,” “back east,” “up north” and “out west” have more relevance. How can we use Missouri’s inherent regionalism as a strength, rather than a stalemate, in the new economy?

Entrepreneurs and innovation. As a university or state, we’ve never given much attention to nurturing the wannabe entrepreneur or start-up in a systematic way. How can we best use the network of Small Business Development Centers from Extension, and the Innovation Centers from the Department of Economic Development, our angel investor groups (such as Centennial Investors) and our venture capital community in forming a pipeline of coaching, mentoring and economic growth?

Risk. While standing grounded in principle, how do we more freely accept the responsibilities and consequences that come from innovative research? How do we accept failure? Can the Missouri “show-me” attitude do more to stimulate innovation?

While e-mails, listservs, meetings and centers might serve some of these organizational and communication functions, I sense our need to develop better ways of finding and connecting with one another. While we need to be clear on the strategic intent of the university, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking we can predict our path.

The next time you find yourself in a planning session for the expected, consider the surprise. Hesitate before dismissing ideas that seem unorthodox or colleagues whom you’ve judged as rogues; they may just hold the “emergent strategy,” the chaos that shapes our future.