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CHAPTER 1 • THE NATURE OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT 19

• Content with success—Particularly if a firm is successful, individuals may feel there
is no need to plan because things are fine as they stand. But success today does not
guarantee success tomorrow.
• Fear of failure—By not taking action, there is little risk of failure unless a problem
is urgent and pressing. Whenever something worthwhile is attempted, there is some
risk of failure.
• Overconfidence—As managers amass experience, they may rely less on formalized
planning. Rarely, however, is this appropriate. Being overconfident or overestimating
experience can bring demise. Forethought is rarely wasted and is often the mark of
professionalism.
• Prior bad experience—People may have had a previous bad experience with planning,
that is, cases in which plans have been long, cumbersome, impractical, or inflexible.
Planning, like anything else, can be done badly.
• Self-interest—When someone has achieved status, privilege, or self-esteem through
effectively using an old system, he or she often sees a new plan as a threat.
• Fear of the unknown—People may be uncertain of their abilities to learn new skills,
of their aptitude with new systems, or of their ability to take on new roles.
• Honest difference of opinion—People may sincerely believe the plan is wrong.
They may view the situation from a different viewpoint, or they may have aspirations
for themselves or the organization that are different from the plan. Different people
in different jobs have different perceptions of a situation.
• Suspicion—Employees may not trust management. 19

Pitfalls in Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is an involved, intricate, and complex process that takes an organization
into uncharted territory. It does not provide a ready-to-use prescription for success;
instead, it takes the organization through a journey and offers a framework for addressing
questions and solving problems. Being aware of potential pitfalls and being prepared to
address them is essential to success.
Some pitfalls to watch for and avoid in strategic planning are these:

• Using strategic planning to gain control over decisions and resources
• Doing strategic planning only to satisfy accreditation or regulatory requirements
• Too hastily moving from mission development to strategy formulation
• Failing to communicate the plan to employees, who continue working in the dark
• Top managers making many intuitive decisions that conflict with the formal plan
• Top managers not actively supporting the strategic-planning process
• Failing to use plans as a standard for measuring performance
• Delegating planning to a “planner” rather than involving all managers
• Failing to involve key employees in all phases of planning
• Failing to create a collaborative climate supportive of change
• Viewing planning as unnecessary or unimportant
• Becoming so engrossed in current problems that insufficient or no planning is done
• Being so formal in planning that flexibility and creativity are stifled 20

Guidelines for Effective Strategic Management
Failing to follow certain guidelines in conducting strategic management can foster criti-
cisms of the process and create problems for the organization. Issues such as “Is strategic
management in our firm a people process or a paper process?” should be addressed.
Even the most technically perfect strategic plan will serve little purpose if it is not
implemented. Many organizations tend to spend an inordinate amount of time,
money, and effort on developing the strategic plan, treating the means and circum-
stances under which it will be implemented as afterthoughts! Change comes through