263. Short Range Strategy
At The Table with Patrick Lencioni
Patrick Lencioni
4.8 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2026
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How can strategy stay intentional when planning cycles keep shrinking?
In episode 263 of At The Table, Patrick Lencioni and Cody Thompson examine how the pace of change has transformed strategic planning. What once centered on five or ten-year plans now often lives within a three to six-month horizon.
Rather than viewing this shift as chaotic, Patrick and Cody explain why a short-cycle strategy can be more responsible and effective. They explore how clarity of purpose and strong organizational health provide the stability needed to navigate constant change.
Topics explored in this episode:
(00:03:57) Why Planning Horizons Have Shrunk
Technology and the rapid flow of information have dramatically accelerated the pace of change.
Businesses and industries now evolve so quickly that long-term certainty is nearly impossible.
(00:07:24) Planning Without Panic
A short-term strategy should not be confused with constant urgency or chaos.
Leaders can use sprint-based planning and frequent reassessment to stay intentional and focused.
(00:11:13) Values Replace Long-Term Predictions
Clear purpose and behavioral values now anchor organizations more than long-range forecasts.
Teams should focus on reaching the next base camp rather than mapping the entire journey.
(00:14:08) Organizational Health Creates Resilience
Strong culture and clarity provide stability when strategies must change quickly.
Healthy organizations can survive rapid shifts while competitors without strong foundations struggle.
This episode of At The Table with Patrick Lencioni is brought to you by The Table Group: https://www.tablegroup.com. We teach leaders how to make work more effective and less dysfunctional. We also help their employees be more fulfilled and less miserable.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It used to be there were two kinds of thinking. |
| 0:02.0 | There was long range planning and then there was fire drills. |
| 0:04.5 | And it was either we're going to be super intentional about long range planning or we're going to be really reactive to some crisis or whatever is happening today. |
| 0:11.7 | Today I think we have to apply the same principles of intentionality and long range planning to six months and not think that that means everything's a fire drill. |
| 0:20.9 | The danger of fire drill leadership is still very problematic, but three to six months is not a fire drill anymore. |
| 0:27.0 | That's actually responsible planning. |
| 0:30.6 | Welcome to At the Table, the podcast that lives at the intersection of teamwork, leadership, organizational health, and culture. I'm Pat Lanchone, your host with |
| 0:39.6 | my co-host, Cody Thompson. What are we talking about today, Cody? We're doing one called short-term |
| 0:44.8 | strategy. That's right. Short-term strategy, because usually we think about long-term strategy, |
| 0:50.2 | and we want to talk about short-term strategy, which is really about the shrinking time horizon of planning. |
| 0:57.4 | When I got out of college years ago, 10, 15 years ago, I think it's been now. |
| 1:03.2 | I remember going to work at a management consulting firm, and we were helping companies coming up with their 10-year plan. |
| 1:10.5 | Like, where do we see the company in 10 years? |
| 1:12.6 | Let's start there and work our strategy backward from that. I started my firm about eight years |
| 1:18.8 | after that, and maybe nine years. And then it was at most, we barely were talking about five-year plans. |
| 1:26.2 | Within a few years, we were down to like, |
| 1:28.6 | okay, two years. Today, I don't know the last time I've talked to a company about more than |
| 1:33.7 | six to 12 months. And frankly, it's usually closer to six. And it's a weird thing. And that's what we |
| 1:39.9 | just want to talk about today is explore this, is why and how our planning horizon has shrunk. |
| 1:50.2 | And what to do about that, is that a good thing? Is that a bad thing? How do we adjust to that? |
| 1:54.0 | But first, let's just talk about why has this happened? What do you think, Cody? |
| 1:57.3 | Well, I'm interested, I will say, I think you're like kind of indulgent in this topic |
... |
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