Editing Scenario planning (section)

===Crafting scenarios===
Combinations and permutations of fact and related social changes are called "[[scenario]]s". Scenarios usually include plausible, but unexpectedly important, situations and problems that exist in some nascent form in the present day. Any particular scenario is unlikely. However, [[futures studies]] analysts select scenario features so they are both possible and uncomfortable. Scenario planning helps policy-makers and firms anticipate change, prepare responses, and create more robust strategies.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Lehr|first1=Thomas|last2=Lorenz|first2=Ullrich|last3=Willert|first3=Markus|last4=Rohrbeck|first4=René|title=Scenario-based strategizing: Advancing the applicability in strategists' teams|journal=Technological Forecasting and Social Change|volume=124|pages=214–224|doi=10.1016/j.techfore.2017.06.026|year=2017|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ringland|first=Gill|title=The role of scenarios in strategic foresight|journal=Technological Forecasting and Social Change|volume=77|issue=9|pages=1493–1498|doi=10.1016/j.techfore.2010.06.010|year=2010}}</ref>

Scenario planning helps a firm anticipate the impact of different scenarios and identify weaknesses. When anticipated years in advance, those weaknesses can be avoided or their impacts reduced more effectively than when similar real-life problems are considered under the duress of an emergency. For example, a company may discover that it needs to change contractual terms to protect against a new class of risks, or collect cash reserves to purchase anticipated technologies or equipment. Flexible [[business continuity planning|business continuity plans]] with "[[Systems thinking|PREsponse protocols]]" can help cope with similar operational problems and deliver measurable future value.