Planning .... again

Planning is essential .... yet, sometimes, plans change or events happen unexpectedly. No matter how many contingencies you plan for, or risks and issues you evaluate, there's often a "first time that's happened to me" syndrome. There are also many tasks we take for granted, which just become unmanageable when multiplied by thousands.

As an example, one project 10+ years ago, involved sending printed personalised 4-page letters to 4,200 people; there was a plan if the post failed (we'd had to deal with this before), there was a plan to merge all the data efficiently .... Although the sign off for individuals was online, obviating the need to collate 4,200 returned, signed, letters, no-one had worked out just how long it would take to print them all off, nor to stuff them in window envelopes.

AND, while we had raised the risk of a workstream leader leaving during the project, we hadn't considered what would happen if 2, or more people went off sick at the same time.

As tricky as it is to evaluate what might happen, it's worth running through extreme situations, just in case. And, always note the lessons learned for the future, after all, there's no point making the same mistake twice, there's plenty of new ones out there.

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If you need help with planning a major piece of work or project, get in touch and see how we can help.

Sue Cohen Ltd works with professional services firms to plan and manage projects, implement solutions and review business processes, ensuring the people, processes and systems are all in line.