The Wall Street Journal ran a story yesterday titled, "Pendulum is Swinging Back on 'Scenario Planning." Perhaps most interesting is the history of scenario planning.
As I have written about previously in the June 18 post, those who own or manage a business will likely continue to find themselves in a very challenging economic and business environment. As I've discussed in this article, there are quite a few things that businesses can do to mitigate and/or avoid the potential damage this economic weakness can cause.
Of course, it is unwise to generalize advice for all businesses, especially in an economic environment like that we currently have. However, scenario planning (and the associated modeling) can be a very valuable tool in helping businesses understand their specific situation (options, vulnerabilities, opportunities, etc) over a range of economic scenarios. It is paramount in effective business planning.
At this point, based upon the statistics I have seen, it would appear as if businesses in general are underutilizing scenario planning. I think this is very unfortunate, as it exposes businesses to risks and uncertainty that may be avoidable.
Should this economy continue to deteriorate, as I have discussed extensively on this blog, businesses could face a very difficult and tricky environment that may well be unpredictable. In such an unpredictable environment, scenario planning increases in value.
SPX at 892.56 as this post is written
Copyright 2009 by Ted Kavadas
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