Principle-Centered Planning‏

If you've ever gone whitewater rafting, then you know the importance of planning. Whenever the raft approaches rapids, the guide has to plan the best route to navigate safely through them. If the guide fails to plan, then the raft can easily smash into a rock or capsize.

Four Types of Planning

Passive planning happens when leadership allows the raft to travel downstream at the mercy of the current rather than steering, rowing, and turning. This kind of non-planning eventually leaves you unprepared to face whitewater rapids. Worse yet, in the absence of a plan, the current may take the raft over the edge of a dreaded waterfall.

Panic planning happens only after the raft is in trouble. At this point, all of the organization's resources are scrambled in a reactionary pattern in an attempt to solve the problem. With panic planning, you may or may not come out alive and well, but you are guaranteed some bumps and bruises.

Scientific planning is viable, but can be laborious, mechanical, and often ends up abandoned in the process. Imagine if a raft guide constantly tried to measure the depth of the water, the distance between rocks, the wind speed, and the water current. Although the information might be helpful, oftentimes the water would be moving too swiftly to take the measurements. In a like manner, leaders often have to respond to change in an instant. There's no time to collect scientific data on all of the variables before deciding which course of action is best.

Principle-centered planning is the key to effectiveness. It is the artistic or leadership approach. Principle-centered planning recognizes that life in general (and people in particular) can't be graphed on a chart, but sees that planning still remains essential.

Reasons Why People Don't Plan

You don't have to be in leadership very long to learn that planning pays off. Even so, many people don't plan. Here are four reasons why people neglect planning.

1) They don't possess planning skills or knowledge.

Some people don't have an innate ability to project themselves into the future. They've never been taught to prioritize their day or to prepare for tomorrow.

2) They're caught in the tyranny of the urgent, and they believe that they don't have time.

Some people allow themselves to be pulled into the vortex of minutiae. As a consequence, they end up buried under a sea of details, and they can't pull their heads above water long enough to plan.

3) They don't like the perceived hassle of planning.

Instead of planning one event at a time, they become overwhelmed by the mountain of things to plan.

4) Many people don't plan because the outcome varies greatly.

"After all," they say, "When I do make a plan, it normally doesn't end up happening, so why bother?"

Why Planning Is Essential

We all have desires and dreams, yet we'll never accomplish our dreams in life just by wanting them bad enough. Planning bridges the gap between our desires and dreams by calling us to action. As noted by William Danforth, ""No plan is worth the paper it is printed on unless it starts you doing something." A concrete plan supplies us with tangible steps to take in the direction of our dreams.

Qualities of Principle-Centered Planning

• Principle-centered planning allows us to be flexible without losing focus.
• Principle-centered planning allows us to be creative without losing concentration.
• Planning is the structure. Principle-centered planning is the flesh.
• Planning is the roadmap. Principle-centered planning is the movement.
• Planning is the idea. Principle-centered planning is the action.
• Planning is the paper. Principle-centered planning is the power.

Summary

It's been said, "By failing to plan, you plan to fail." I wholeheartedly agree. People who ignore planning handicap themselves and stifle their effectiveness.

The good news about planning is that it's a relatively simple discipline. Anyone can do it. No PHD is required to make a solid plan - only a window of uninterrupted time for focused thought.

By now I hope you've been persuaded about the imperative of planning. In the next edition of Leadership Wired, I'll unwrap seven principles to guide your planning process and help you achieve your dreams.

(by John C. Maxwell)

When Plans Don't Go According to the Script, Keep Planning‏

"In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

As Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower planned, coordinated, and carried out the largest amphibious assault ever undertaken - the Invasion of Normandy. Historians regard him as one of the greatest military strategists of all time. Even so, Eisenhower considered plans to be essentially worthless.

Why Plans Are Useless

1) There's No Way to Control Your Competition

In a hypercompetitive and dynamic world, plans have an increasingly shorter shelf life. As Colin Powell said, "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy." As leaders, we are susceptible to the innovations of competitors. When faced with a new reality, we must either scrap our plans or close our doors.

In business as in warfare, there's no way to predict the strategies and innovations of your opponent. You never know when a competitor could obliterate your business plan by introducing an inventive idea. Competition from foreign automakers sent GM spiraling into bankruptcy. iTunes has nearly sunk the major record companies, and online news sources have put traditional newspapers on life support.

2) There's No Way to Control Your Circumstances

If you own a small construction firm, then you're painfully aware of this principle. A brilliant plan for growth doesn't do any good when few people are buying and even fewer are building. None of your strategies have the power to revive the stock market or to put money back in people's wallets.

The fate of Hummer is a prime example of a company's plans being hammered by forces beyond its control. Five years ago, Hummers were the rage, and the brand had incredible appeal. Riding the wave of popularity, Hummer spun off clothing lines, toys, and even founded an off-road driving school in South Bend, Indiana. However, a spike in gas prices nearly killed off the company a few months ago.

Why Planning is Indispensible

Eisenhower was no fool. While he recognized that concrete plans would sooner or later be discarded in the course of battle, he prized the process of planning. Why? Because he knew firsthand the benefits it could bring.

1) Planning Prepares You Mentally and Emotionally

When planning, you walk down the avenue of possibilities in your mind. This exercise mentally familiarizes you with the pros and cons that may be associated with the decisions you make. Also, projecting yourself into the future acquaints you with some of the sacrifices that will be necessary to see a plan through to completion. Oftentimes, being aware of these costs in advance helps a leader to prepare emotionally to make tough choices.

2) Planning Helps You to Prioritize Your Resources

Opportunities abound, but you can't do everything. Planning helps you to separate what you must do from what you could do. By prioritizing, you more effectively allocate precious resources of time and capital.

3) Planning Causes You to Identify Assumptions

As any mapmaker knows, a good roadmap must be drawn to scale and must have a legend explaining its symbols. Without these two essential features, the map is confusing and unreliable to the reader.

Assumptions serve as our legend and scale when we map out a path for those we lead. We really can't make a sensible plan for the future until we've defined our assumptions. Planning exposes assumptions to the light of inquiry. When considering a future plan, we have to test whether or not our present assumptions remain valid. This process helps us refine our fundamental beliefs about the mission, values, and goals of our organization.

SUMMARY

Plans are disposable. As such, perhaps it's best to write them on recyclable paper, but never stop the discipline of planning. Although a majority of your plans will end up being abandoned and discarded, the process of planning won't fail to reward you.