Recently, the concept of strategic planning has become a popular business focus, especially among companies scrambling to keep up with our brave new world's frantic pace. We've always practiced strategic planning at some level, of course, but what we meant by the term a few years ago barely resembles today's reality. This should come as no surprise in an era when last week's smartphone can't even run this week's apps. 

Once upon a time, strategic planning was a leisurely process, hidebound and bureaucratic. Some managers still treat it as such; worse, they see strategic planning as something mysteriously created by senior executives and/or outside consultants, perceiving execution as little more than the downstream part of the process. The top brass decides what to do, and staff members take the decision and run with it. 

In reality, what the workers do often isn't what the leaders dictate; they adapt on the fly to fit the current reality. If you haven't already realized and accepted this, then you'd better open your eyes immediately. Yes, managers and other leaders still play a crucial role in strategic prioritization: but today's business world is much too unpredictable to straitjacket your front-liners with last year's (or last week's) strategies.

Keep these things in mind as you proceed with your strategic planning: