The Art of Quantum Planning

Stale ideas, conformity, and lack of imagination stymie strategic planning. Here, Gerald Harris uses seven concepts from quantum physics to pry open minds, eradicate unhealthy groupthink, spur creativity, and revitalize strategic planning.

Explaining quantum concepts in plain language and using real-world examples, Harris inspires innovation while providing practical guidance for applying these ideas in actual planning situations. Just as light has a dual nature—it can be a wave and a particle—so the needs and wants of a customer can be both discrete and continuous, or the market focus of an organization can be both targeted and many faceted. Likewise, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle—that we cannot know both the position and the speed of an electron—reminds us that it is impossible to be aware of every single relevant fact before we make a decision. Planning, he shows, must be a learning-forward process that continually adjusts to new information. Harris’s lessons act as triggers for inquiry, giving you an opportunity to discover more innovative and successful strategies.