Future-Informed Business Planning℠ is Catalytics’ scenario planning methodology that identifies, assesses and addresses a wide range of factors potentially influencing a company’s business success over the next 3 to 5 years. Our consultants typically work with your Executive Team, Board Members and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing strategic issues and questions; facilitate group discussions of significant external factors and assess the implications of various drivers on the company’s future.

Within this strategic context, we then construct and consider alternate future scenarios, develop strategies for each of the scenarios, and produce a set of strategic objectives and initiatives that serves as the company’s blueprint for the future. The following is a high-level flow chart of the standard scenario planning process, which is tailored to the client’s specific needs and priorities.

1. Strategic Issues & Questions – Establish an initial list of strategic issues and questions to be addressed as part of the planning process
2. External Factors – Combine the strategic questions into a set of external factors that can have the most significant impact on the business over the next 3 to 5 years (e.g., the legislative/regulatory environment, economic conditions, changes in market needs, technology advancements, etc.)
3. Drivers, Potential Outcomes & Implications – For each of the external factors, identify the most important drivers, potential outcomes and implications for the company
4. Core Drivers – Assess all the drivers and identify the 4-6 core drivers that could have the greatest potential impact on company’s future
5. Future States – For each of the drivers, identify the various potential future states (or conditions)
6. Alternate Scenarios – Combine the various drivers and future states to create alternate scenarios of the future
7. Scenario Strategies – For each of the alternate scenarios, develop scenario strategies that the Company would pursue to succeed in that scenario
8. Strategic Objectives – Translate the scenario strategies into strategic objectives aligned with the core drivers
9. Strategic Initiatives – For the core drivers and related strategic objectives, develop strategic initiatives that will be pursued to achieve the strategic objectives