Here’s a blog post by my long-time friend Jim Castiglia I thought worth sharing with you…
(He is especially good at working with management teams to improve communication and coordination.)
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes
Dwight Eisenhower famously stated, that “plans are useless…”
The second part of that statement is just as compelling…
He went on to assert, “but planNING is everything.”
In this post, I want to comment on why plans are useless and why planning is still critical, and it’s pretty simple.
In my last post on planning (which you can read here), I mentioned the oft-summarized assertion by the renowned Prussian Field Marshall Helmut von Moltke that plans can go awry very quickly. Let’s consider specifically why that happens.
The All-Important VUCA
It’s due to “V.U.C.A.” factors.
I first heard this term from the author of the terrific book Predictable Prospecting, MaryLou Tyler.
VUCA stands for the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous.
These factors are always at play and can create havoc with any plans you might conceive and develop.
This is why Eisenhower said that plans were useless… once you make contact with the enemy (who gets a vote), all hell can break loose.
To account for VUCA occurrences, should you just throw your plans out the window?
No! Just understand the critical part and that is the P-L-A-N-N-I-N-G! Planning!
Why is planNING critical? Because effective planning makes you THINK. And, business is an intellectual sport (Keith Cunningham). It requires thinking. The better your thinking, the better your results. Planning compels us to think… to think about the VUCA elements and plan for them. So, that’s the main reason to plan.
The second reason is that planning and plans inform you of what you need to do NOW… TODAY.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re on track or not, plans can help you determine that.
Action steps
Follow these 3 steps:
- Make the best plans possible, given your current knowledge and experience
- Don’t become attached to them, and
- Remain flexible. Maintain your ability to change, to pivot, to reassess… and get going again.
If you need help with your plans and planning process, reply to this email. We can talk about your specific situation and determine a way forward.
I welcome your comments and questions as always, and hope to talk to you!
Jim Castiglia, Founder
Business Street Fighter Consulting, LLC
919-263-1256
http://www.BSF.Consulting
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