The Fox Trilogy. Chantell Ilbury

started as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. As times and circumstances changed, they evolved into a sandpaper manufacturer; then into adhesive tape invented by a banjo-playing engineer; Post-it notes; and more recently high-tech optics. Here is a company that is in control of its destiny and has exploited uncertainty to its advantage. It has thrived by retaining its greatest strength through thick and thin – innovation.

      To summarise, realistic and action-oriented strategic planning requires options. Formulate as many options as possible and then look realistically at those that are achievable and can most effectively be implemented by you. Remember that options aren’t recommendations, just as scenarios aren’t forecasts. So be as “blue sky” as you like in a discussion on options. If people think your option is too wild, you can always say it was just an option. Whereas one option, or even part of one, is used in the end, you can only confidently proceed if all the alternatives have been identified and rejected. In this way, options give you more control and allow you the comfort and certainty that you made the best decision you could under the circumstances – even if you are subsequently proved wrong.

      Returning to golf, the options are the clubs in your bag. Each club is there to strike the ball a different distance. It is only when you’re out there on the course that you’ll decide which club to use, depending on your distance from the hole, your lie and the wind. Making decisions without considering the options is rather like playing a golf course with only one club in your bag – difficult.