The Corporate Planning Process

There is something of a paradox in our use of the word planning. On the one hand, there is widespread agreement that it means looking ahead and is a desirable endeavor. On the other hand, there is considerable confusion concerning just what is implied by the word, and disagreement as to the extent to which planning is a distinctive activity or simply an ordinary aspect of almost everything we do. Thus, we find wide differences and contradictions in the use of the same planning terms, or the assumption they will mean the same thing to different people. Why this confusion and frequent contradiction?