When updating your marketing plan, do you imagine the future and take into account how your business environment will change? Throw the current environment out the door, predict what will happen to turn your industry on its head, and plan for that? Perhaps too few of us take that approach. Most (including yours truly) tend to plan in increments from the current situation.

If that describes you as well, take a look at Seth Godin’s new article Lessons learned from my biggest business mistake, where he explains how, early on, he didn’t believe in the Internet. Consequently, lost out on much wealth. While Larry Page and Sergey Brin were developing Google in preparation for the future business ecosystem (Seth’s term), he was incrementing by authoring a smiley dictionary.

The lesson: set aside part of your planning for imagining and building for the as-yet-unrealized future. It could make all the difference to the future bottom line.