Issue management‐challenge and opportunity for planning executives

Corporate planning has had cyclical popularity since its inception in the '50s. There was a period in the late '50s when growing interest in the subject made “planning” a buzz word, but by the early '60s, many executives had come to feel that planning was a ritual with no measurable pay‐off. This attitude caused a rebirth in more serious planning, resulting in what today is known as strategic planning. In the early '70s, planning again fell into disrepute as planners were blamed for not foreseeing many of the problems that faced business. Today, as we approach the end of the '70s, planning is again an important function for management, but the task of the planner has evolved to include the conversion of plans to meaningful action—a challenge that has resided implicitly with the planner, but has seldom been successfully realized.