The Art of Quantum Planning: Lessons from Quantum Physics for Breakthrough Strategy, Innovation, and Leadership

Planning today is plagued by a lack of imagination. It’s often difficult, when working with a business, organization, or any group of people, to upend traditional thinking and unlock new ideas and new possibilities. If you are a strategic planner, or anyone charged with managing growth or facilitating change, it is important to add to your arsenal tools that will allow you to break unhealthy groupthink, avoid old patterns, and escape narrow safe zones. In The Art of Quantum Planning Gerald Harris takes seven concepts from the scientific study of tiny particles and applies them in the larger world, showing how they can pry open minds, spur creativity, and make the planning process far more innovative and effective.

The dual nature of light—it can be both a wave and a particle—serves as a jumping-off point for a discussion of how either-or thinking can limit our sense of what options are open to us. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, which says we cannot know both the position and the speed of an electron, reminds us that it is impossible to be aware of every variable, and so planning must be a learning process that continually incorporates new information and makes adjustments. Harris explains quantum concepts in layman’s language and, using real-world examples, gives practical advice on applying the ideas in actual planning situations—including improving techniques for scenario analyses that help managers function in an uncertain business environment.

This approach demands an open mind and a willingness to venture into unexplored territory—also keys for effective leadership. Using the lessons provided as triggers for thinking The Art of Quantum Planning will help readers to a more profound understanding of how to create successful strategies.

About the Author

After graduation from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (recently renamed the Booth Graduate School of Business), Gerald Harris began his professional career in the investments and economics department at Bechtel Corporation where he assisted in arranging international project financing for energy plants. He then joined the corporate finance group at Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to focus on the company’s asset-based finance. After several years in the corporate finance group he was tapped to be part of the initial corporate planning department at PG&E and was subsequently promoted to be the director of planning for the engineering and construction division of the company. It was with this initial corporate experience that Gerald got a hands-on feel for strategic planning. After a 13-year career at PG&E, Gerald joined Global Business Network (GBN) to expand his strategic planning experience as a consultant working internationally. He mastered the scenario-planning process while at GBN, and over his 15-year career there, worked with many companies in the energy, mining, engineering, telecommunications, and information-technology industries, leading and facilitating company teams in developing scenarios and related strategies. He also led scenario-planning and strategy-development projects for government agencies and foundations in the public policy arena, in particular focusing on public education and economic development. Gerald thus understands strategic planning from both the internal company perspective and that of an external consultant. In 2008, Gerald became a member of the GBN’s network of experts and contributors, and started to build his own consulting practice and team.