Now we were getting somewhere. “Something would change?” I repeated.

“Well, yes,” Walter started. “We could do the same thing over and over, and be successful, until something changed.”

“So, when we talk about planning, what would be valuable to talk about. Where is the real value in planning?”

Walter was still hoping he hadn’t painted himself into a corner. “You’re right. The real value in planning is talking about what will change. Maybe that is what is unsettling about the process. We talk about change, things that might happen or might not happen, things we don’t know about. Then we attach a revenue number to it, like we are the most accurate weather forecaster in the world. That is the unsettling part.”

“Are you trying to do two things at cross purpose?”

Walter nodded again, “Yes, we talk about the uncertainty of the future and then try to nail down a black and white number all in the same sentence.”