Methods and Models for Planning Strategically

Abstract

Strategic planning began to be embraced by corporate leaders in the mid-1960s as “the one best way” to devise and implement strategies that would enhance the competition of each business unit. True to the mold of scientific management, this one best way involved separating thinking from doing and spawned the growth of corporate strategic planners (Mintzberg, 1994). Too often, however, this model of strategic planning has failed to connect the thinking and doing within the healthcare organization. Implementational discipline has not matched the planning effort. Even worse, many corporate planners do not even have a good process. It has been treated as an executive adventure—something the intuitive generalist knows must be done—but without a system, it becomes a weekend or short term experience, perhaps aided by third-party consultants (Bean, 1993). Unfortunately, strategic planning for information and communication systems has been and continues to be an area often guilty of these practices.