Given what I’ve revealed about short-termism at Honeywell, you might wonder if we had a formal strategic planning process in place. We certainly did. Each July our businesses made presentations to the CEO, with similar presentations taking place down through the ranks. These presentations were, in a word, bullshit. Leaders had no clue how they would run their businesses over the next five years, what big initiatives they would have to push to make their goals, or what changes in their industry they should anticipate, or better, lead. Rather than choosing goals thoughtfully, they picked ambitious targets they thought would please their bosses, without regard for whether the business could realistically achieve them. They might have factored in the benefit of downsizing, the introduction of new products or services, process improvement, or other cost-savings initiatives, but then didn’t include as an expense the funds to bankroll these initiatives because it would depress the outlook. To cover themselves, they threw around lofty language and piled on hundreds of pages of charts and tables, hoping to look smart. Without much critical analysis, leaders gave their blessings, leaving the businesses to go execute whatever they wanted without follow-up or accountability. “Strategy,” such as it was, had no relevance. Operational considerations and making the quarter became daily concerns, with strategy fading to the background.
Winning Now, Winning Later: How Companies Can Succeed in the Short Term While Investing for the Long Term. HarperCollins Leadership. 2020. p. 38
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