Strategic planning isn’t about predicting the future. It’s about preparing for it — with enough courage and clarity to move forward even when the path ahead isn’t fully visible. (It never is!)
In this second episode of “strategy sightings,” I’d like to highlight the work of two client organizations I admire — Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) and Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). They didn’t wait for perfect clarity to pursue a strategic direction. Instead, they acted on signals, took bold stances, and shaped the terrain as they moved through it.
WRCF bet on *social infrastructure* — recognizing its relevance in a community rapidly growing to one million people and creating the physical infrastructure for doing so. They saw a growing need for belonging, the importance of relational networks, the power of place. And rather than wait for consensus or proof of popularity, they leaned in — even inviting their communities to help them define the term. In doing so, they didn’t just respond to relevance — they created it. Their commitment and thought leadership helped make social infrastructure something funders, municipalities, and local changemakers are starting to pay attention to. (And clear goals and measurable objectives in their strategy, alongside a commitment to follow it, have definitely helped).
Similarly, MEDA made the creation of 500,000 decent jobs the ambitious cornerstone of their strategic plan five years ago, in the context of seismic shifts in the roles of international nongovernmental organizations. Now that they are writing chapter two of that story, they see the global development community coalescing around employment as a defining measure of economic dignity. They picked a throughline and are sticking with it, building the tools, partnerships, positioning and momentum to act decisively even as other global players are now catching up. The first chapter has not been easy. But their foresight positioned them not just to follow global trends, but to lead within them.
These examples highlight something important: setting strategy isn’t about being psychic — it’s about being ready. Ready to notice the signals. Ready to move before it’s comfortable. Ready to stand for something even when others aren’t quite sure yet.
Scenario planning requires relevance, commitment and leadership more than accuracy. WRCF and MEDA didn’t predict the future with perfect precision — but they listened well, decided boldly, and invested deeply. Now that the fog is lifting a bit, they’re not scrambling to catch up, but poised to lead.
That’s the power of strategic foresight. Not as a crystal ball — but as a compass.
And in times of uncertainty, a steady compass may be the most valuable tool of all.