With the world changing so fast, many smart leaders can’t imagine why they should make plans beyond a few weeks or perhaps a few months. How could you possibly know what the world will look like three years down the road?

Here are five reasons to plan – even if following a plan is not your forte.

Thinking about your future shapes your decisions today. Strategic planning begins with an idea – where does your company or organization want to be in one year, five years or even 10? The more clearly you can envision that long-term future, the better your decisions will be today, this week and this month because they will move you in the right direction.

For example, if Jon’s landscape architecture firm sets a clear vision to be the premier choice for large corporate clients across the Houston region – he can more easily make the decision not to accept home landscaping projects in Dallas that take him away from actively pursuing his vision.

Planning forces you to sort through the options. Whether you’re leading a team at a large university or running a small business, you can spend your time and energy going a hundred directions. Sorting through your choices – of clients, geography, pricing, timing for a product launch, employees, growth speed, etc. – is crucial, and extremely difficult. But a laser focus gives a better chance of success than a shotgun approach.

One private university made a decision to focus on “innovation.” It took this choice seriously, and changed staffing, invested in cutting-edge projects, created new partnerships, gave incentives for innovative solutions – and is now building a national reputation on this theme. To invest in this focus meant sacrificing other options that were just as viable.

Involving your team builds morale and strengthens ownership. You might be surprised how much the employees of your company or organization think about the future of the business. The most successful organizations create a trusting, safe environment where people can respectfully disagree and offer ideas for the future that might be very different – even contradictory – to current thinking.

I was once part of an operational leadership team that, every month, hashed out all kinds of issues. We presented ideas or problems, energetically debated pros and cons, and brought our professional and personal experiences to bear on areas well beyond our official expertise. Sometimes we made a final decision as a group; sometimes, we just provided the leading executive other perspectives to consider. We were a better organization because of that team.

Having a plan saves you money. Perhaps you are buying ads in multiple publications because you can’t decide which customers to pursue. Or you are sponsoring a variety of events year after year that aren’t producing results for your business. Or maybe the activities consuming your time aren’t producing the majority of your revenue. Even if you don’t follow a strategic plan to the letter, outlining major directions and tactics – with a timeline – will help you focus your money and your energy in areas that give you the most return on your investment. Winston Churchill, former British Prime Minister, said, “Those who plan do better than those who do not plan even though they rarely stick to their plan.”

Envisioning your success moves you closer to it. If the big picture is right, people at every level of the organization can decide how to spend their time without constantly checking in – and you’ll all be moving in the same direction. Creating a plan will help you avoid the trap poor Alice fell in:

“Would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice.
 “That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.
 “I really don’t care where,” replied Alice.
 “Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
– Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)