Long-term Planning Is Irrelevant, If Not a Hindrance

Long-term planning is irrelevant, if not a hindrance.
Strategy should not be about the realisation of prior intent, but rather emphasis on the importance of openness to accident, coincidence and serendipity.
Strategy in this case is the emergent resultant.
Successful strategies, especially in the long term, do not result from fixing an organisational intention and mobilising around it, they emerge from complex and continuing interactions between people.
Credit: Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge

Source: Organization Development: A Practitioner's Guide for OD and HR

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Online Knowledge Café: Conversational Leadership — Beyond Knowledge Management
Wednesday 17th March 2026, 14:00 - 15:30 London time

Knowledge Management gives us access to information, but it does not decide or act. In this Knowledge Café, we will explore how Conversational Leadership builds on KM by strengthening shared reasoning, judgement, and agency. Join us to examine how we think together when knowledge alone is not enough.

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This quotation is part of a blook on Conversational Leadership. It is one of many quotations that have influenced my thinking on the subject. Parts of this blook have restricted access. You may browse the pages open to you, but you will need to register and be approved before you can login and access the full site. When you register, you may also sign-up to receive a quotation of the day by email.

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