Method of Production of Long-Term Plans

Abstract

Our work on this project seeks to understand and compare the different methods by which corporations have developed the long-term plans delivered at CECP Strategic Investor Initiative CEO Investor Forums. Through this project we developed insights into how organizational process, cross-team collaborations, available data, disclosure practice, and investor guidance influence the content of a long-term plan. This work forms the basis of decision-making guidance for corporations seeking to deliver a long-term strategic plan to investors. Companies also described a motivational set for delivering long-term plans at CEO Investor Forums built around frustrations with market short-termism, a desire to demonstrate leadership in corporate practice, and seeing a strategic opportunity to supplement Investor Relations initiatives with a focus on long-term investors and sustainability issues. In addition, we explored at the challenges that corporations addressed in preparing a long-term plan. Each corporation indicated that the preparation of a long-term plan required deep and iterative exchange and collaboration between Investor Relations and Corporate Responsibility, with the Corporate Secretary and Corporate Communications often added to this picture. Each corporation identified the imperative of cross-team collaboration in developing the content for a long-term plan. Several companies sought to identify the different roles teams could play in the process, reflecting their expertise, function, and relationship to the executive team. Finally, the development of the long-term plans often freed Corporate Sustainability from their silo and connect in a meaningful way to business operations.