Rita McGrath

Discovery-Driven Planning

Coauthor(s): Ian MacMillan.

Abstract:
Discovery-driven planning is a practical tool that acknowledges the difference between planning for a new venture and for a more conventional business. Rather than trying to force start-ups into the planning methodologies for existing, well-understood businesses, the authors offer managers a tool that highlights potentially dangerous implicit assumptions. Using Kao Corporation's entry into floppy disks, the authors present a step-by-step approach to help companies think differently about planning. When a significant strategic undertaking is fraught with uncertainty, discovery-driven planning is an especially powerful tool. It forces managers to articulate what they don't know and provides a discipline to help them address the make-or-break unknowns common to new ventures.

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