There are just a few weeks left in 2010, and by now all businesses have finished or are in process of completing their plans for next year. Plans are never really complete because planning is a constant task of management. We freeze plans at a particular point in time so we can finally get to the actions of running an enterprise, but then the plans can freeze our options when it comes time to deal with unanticipated events. Planning must be kept in perspective as a tool to aid our actions without bureaucratizing them.

The bureaucratic nature of planning infects even small businesses. The most common element in all corporate planning is a comparison to the prior year. It's an easy trap to fall into: everyone wants to know how things will change compared to the way things have been going.

Perhaps the constant obsession with the prior year is the start of the inward focus of planning that ends up creating problems. The planning process is supposed to include an overview of the competitive environment and the competitors within it. This is often glossed over, yet it might be the most important part of the process. Unfortunately, “competitors” are usually defined as the companies we bid against on a daily basis or pass in the hallways and lobbies of clients. The alternative choices that our clients now have in their budgets in lieu of print are rarely included in this elite group.