Ignition Guide to Conducting Scenario Planning | Gartner

While HR leaders continue to help their organizations manage through the recovery phase of the pandemic while planning for the future, I continue to get requests to share resources on scenario planning (SP). This step-by-step guide by Gartner allows practitioners to use (SP) to develop scenarios, identify the risks and impact of each scenario, and document and communicate the scenario-specific action plan to stakeholders. One of the references in this guide includes a chart on five common pitfalls to SP. For each pitfall, there is a counter recommendation on keys to success. For example, one trap of SP is when there is a sole or heavy focus on risk identification that leads to an action plan focused on short-term risk mitigation. Instead, planners should evaluate growth opportunities, not only risks. By focusing on both risks and opportunities for growth, SP activities are more likely to yield insights and actions that have a more significant impact and unlock business value. You can access other posts that I have made on SP by visiting this section of my website.