The 5-year strategic plan isn't really strategy.

Yes, the plan may give some idea of the operational tactics to be employed in the short to medium term but they don't really help a company evolve strategically to face the future. That is due to the time it takes for companies and industries to evolve - it takes years and some times even decades. However, if a company isn't really thinking about the long-term horizon, it won't really have the time to catch-up when the industry evolves.

It is therefore useful for the strategic planner to consider things not in terms of a time-line but rather a time-cone as suggested by Amy Webb in her article published by HBR in July 2019.

The time-cone allows for a team to look at both the short term and long term simultaneously.

This is done as the framework considers certainty and accordingly charts actions rather than simply looking at quarterly or annual milestones. The cone can consist of multiple zones with distinct categorization - 1) Tactics, 2) Strategy, 3) Vision and 4) Systems-level evolution. The approach in each of the sections varies and but encompasses the earlier one as we approach Systems-level evolution

1) Tactics (12 months - 24 months)

The highest certainty zone is the 12-24 month timeframe where there are high probability events with data in place. The kind of planning which can take place here is more tactical like a re-design or targeting a slightly different segment

2) Strategy (3 - 5 years)

The tactical decisions should fit into the company's strategies. This is a familiar zone for most people in the strategy function and consists of actions like defining priorities, allocating resources and getting the right team in place.

3) Vision (5-10-15 years)

Most companies keep spending time in the first two zones and shuffling between tactics & strategies. They end up having to play catch up with competitors and new entrants as they haven't really had a vision for the future. So leaders should articulate a strong vision of areas they want to invest in terms of research, the workforce, etc even as they keep working on the the tactics & strategy to fit the vision.

4) System-level evolution (Beyond 10-15 years)

The vision should fit into how the industry may evolve in the future.

So unlike a traditional strategic plan with a timeline, here we move forward as the data validates the tactics & strategy informing the vision. You aren't stuck in the middle of a 5-year plan but rather always rooted in the tactical changes you need to make in the present.