Uber CEO Questions Long-Term Planning

Uber CEO calls on leaders to stop this habit of setting long-term plans that are rigid and instead adopt flexible decision-making models.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has criticized the age-old method of five-year-long business planning, according to him, not being applicable in a new rapid technology world. In one of the interviews in the Leaders Playbook by CNBC, the CEO stated that quick changes in technology, consumerism, and world events render long-term forecasting less reliable.

Khosrowshahi says that leaders who identify themselves as being sure of the next five years face the risk of poor strategic decisions. The Uber CEO supports a situation-based thinking approach instead of having a predetermined roadmap, where organizations strive to designate various outcomes instead of relying on a particular prediction. Planning five years ahead, in his opinion, is akin to deluding oneself, and the foundation of preparation should be based on possibilities rather than promises.

According to the CEO, with flexible planning, companies are better placed to respond in a faster manner, handle risks more efficiently, and allocate resources in a more disciplined manner. This point of view, as it has been explicated by him, also pushes teams to remain receptive to change rather than living by prescribed methods.

Uber's strategy reflects this approach. With autonomous cars, the CEO does not take definite schedules, making its technology a good idea and not a definite one. Uber is still experimenting with autopilot technologies involving partners and tests and bolstering its main ride-hailing and delivery operations.

The opinions of Khosrowshahi point out a deeper trend in executive leadership, in which adaptability and resiliency are starting to have a higher premium than long-term certitude.