If you fail to plan you plan to fail. There are three reasons. People running organizations often feel the future is changing so rapidly that planning is futile. The second reason is that they feel nothing will change so there is no point to planning. Finally many feel no one has time to seize future opportunities when everyone is so busy keeping the organization alive in the present.
Planning can be depressing.
Colorful mental images in the minds of visionaries are re-painted in sober black and white by the practical number crunchers. Often making the budget is the organization's only planning exercise. Instead of cutting the pie, however, planning can make a pie bigger. In their passion to satisfy the customer, companies may be overlooking more profitable opportunities in new customers and emerging markets. Usually if you listen to your members, customers, constituents and shareholders, they will tell you how to win.