The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (book)

"The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning" by Henry Mintzberg critically examines how organizations approach long-term planning. It highlights that traditional strategic planning, once widely adopted for its systematic approach, often becomes detached from real-world complexities, leading to rigidity and false confidence. Mintzberg argues that effective strategy should be more flexible, emergent, and responsive to change rather than strictly top-down plans. The book traces the popularity of formal planning, its limitations, and suggests that adaptable, ongoing learning is more vital for successful strategy than rigid, structured methods.