Nairobi, July 8 -- "A plan is not a strategy. A strategy is not a plan," advises Roger Martin.

Do leading-edge firms like Google or Tesla do traditional five-year plans? Then, label them with the buzzword 'strategic'? Does agility matter more than predicting the future with precision? Is it better to consider 'plans' living documents, revised as conditions change, rather than fixed commitments?

What percentage of time do you think things go according to a plan? Not surprising that senior managers who sit on NSE boards, will say something like: "Well, maybe 5 to 10 percent of the time, that things go according to the plan."

Companies like Google and Tesla do not manage the business through traditional, detailed five-year strategic plans...