“Becoming: If you ask young men what they want to accomplish by the time they are 40, the
answers you get fall into two distinct categories. There are those — the great majority - who
will respond in terms of what they want to have. This is especially true of graduate students of
business administration. There are some men, however, who will answer in terms of the kind
of men they hope to be. These are the only ones who have a clear idea of where they are going.
The same is true of companies. For far too many companies, what little thinking goes on
about the future is done primarily in money terms. There is nothing wrong with financial
planning. Most companies should do more of it. But there is a basic fallacy in confusing a
financial plan with thinking about the kind of company you want yours to become. It is like
saying, "When I'm 40, I'm going to be rich." It leaves too many basic questions unanswered.
Rich in what way? Rich doing what?”
From “How to Evaluate Corporate Strategy” by Seymour Tilles, HBR 1963.
