A circumstance that has a major (positive or negative) influence on pursuance of a set of planning goals It can appear as a trend, a cycle, an analogy, or an event A driving force cannot be fully controlled by the participants in the planning process A driving force can be unpredictable, or not well understood, or even unknown
someone with the energy and vision to take a "concept" and make it a reality; the organizer in small-scale operations; the CEO in larger operations