Focus on the Future

Creating a sustainable organization requires understanding the short- and longer-term factors that affect your organization and marketplace. The pursuit of sustainable growth and sustained performance leadership requires a strong future orientation and a willingness to make long-term commitments to key stakeholders—your customers, workforce, suppliers, partners, and stockholders; the public; and your community.

Your organization’s planning should anticipate many factors, such as customers’ expectations, new business and partnering opportunities, workforce development and hiring needs, the increasingly global marketplace, technological developments, changes in customer and market segments, new business models, evolving regulatory requirements, changes in community and societal expectations and needs, and strategic moves by competitors. Strategic objectives and resource allocations need to accommodate these influences. A focus on the future includes developing your leaders, workforce, and suppliers; accomplishing effective succession planning, creating opportunities for innovation, and anticipating societal responsibilities and concerns. +