For some unknown reason, when you look up “plans” on Wikipedia, you only get a short story and four interesting quotes:
- Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential – Winston Churchill
- Plans are nothing; planning is everything. – Dwight D. Eisenhower
- No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
- A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week – George S. Patton
Notice anything unusual about the sources of these quotes? Correct, the authors are all famous for their military expertise. The history of serious planning may be traced back to early military men. However, we know that planning and plans are not used exclusively by the military; you and I use them as we go about our daily routine and when we are hard at work.
What do the Churchill and Eisenhower quotes mean?
These quotes are two very similar versions of the same thing and have the same meaning. However, you want an explanation of the difference between the two words in simple language. How is this; planning is a process, and a plan is a document. Planning is all about thinking:
- What has to be done?
- What resources do I need?
- How do I use the resources I will have?
- What are all the ways I can achieve my objective?
- What are the pros and cons of each?
- What is my final decision about the way forward?
The plan is the documentation of the decision in a way that people who have to implement the program can be successful. Here are two very different examples of projects:
It is Saturday, and you have errands and people to pick up and drop off. You write your list, order all the activities, and make shopping lists for each store. You realize the only resources you need are the kids, the minivan, and the family credit card. All this took a few minutes but is essential for you and your family. You certainly don’t want not to pick up a kid or forget to pick up the dress at the dry cleaners that your wife expects to wear in the evening. Because you do this consistently, you do not need anyone else to work with or use it as a check and balance for your opinions.
It is September, and time for your business to update the Strategic Plan annually. You bring the critical members of your “inner circle” together to review recent progress and setbacks that will form the basis of the future. The planning process is crucial because none of us can be all knowledgeable about ideas, trends, changes, etc., both inside and outside our business which will change how we do business. The best chance is to tap into the combined knowledge of all your employees, especially your senior team since they have the best overall idea about what you are trying to accomplish. At this stage, it is frequently helpful to engage a consultant since she will have no problems telling the truth to power and will make sure people are straight with you and not holding back any bad news.
Items to discuss during the planning process include:
- How do your customers perceive your business? What has changed?
- How has the industry performed against the current plan?
- What has changed in the competitive arena? New products, new companies, and old competitors fail or get acquired?
- What has significantly changed in technology that could affect your business?
- Were there any significant changes to your company’s team?
- Are there any new products that will force you to change how you do business?
Once this is discussed in detail, the highlights of the discussions, including decisions taken about what to do and what not to do, are committed to writing, reviewed, and approved. The approval process should include people not involved in the planning process and are essential to implementing the decisions. The give and take is an integral part of the process. When the plan is published and shared with everyone who will have to know what will be expected of them in the future, it will probably be put into some draw and not viewed again until the following year. Do you care? NO! Really?? Again, consider this quote:
No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
In business, contact with the enemy is a metaphor for being out and about in the commercial marketplace. Stuff happens, and as long as your team understands the intent of your strategy, you have to trust them to adapt to the changing “real world.”
You can thank General Patton for trying to stop “paralysis by analysis”:
A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week– George S. Patton
We know Patton was so action-oriented that he became a severe management challenge for Eisenhower because he rubbed the British Generals the wrong way, yet he did what he had to when he had to. Not a bad legacy.
Finally, as an aside, consider the challenge for sole proprietors or heads of small businesses. They must build up a network of like-minded people they trust and are willing to act as Devil’s Advocates in the planning process – we all need fresh input and checks and balances. Finding people like this is difficult, and keeping them is even more complex, but you can sleep well at night if you do.
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