Commitment Another important element of planning that will determine the success of planning efforts is commitment. Lack of management support has been identified as a major obstacle to successful strategic planning. I believe that collective learning leads to common understanding, resulting in consensus and generating commitment. The deeper the commitment, the better the result. The differences are in the depth and breadth of thinking.
Commitment allows an organization to pursue in-depth planning and avoid a superficial process.
We were all surprised at how hard Luis wanted us to work. He would later send us back to get better information or tell us to start over or twist it another way. Luis was unwilling to let us stay on the surface. He forced us to really think in different ways. A good strategic planning process becomes a cycle of planning activities, follow-up and control mechanisms, implementation, and replanning.