Planning Pitfall #3
The 4 Pitfalls Of Planning:
#3 Using planning as a point by point scripting process for how the future will unfold.
Planning is good and essential. But it's also necessary to remember that no plan survives the "Battlefield".?
Here the planner tries to prescribe the course of events with precision, a fundamentally impossible thing to do.
Too often, planners, strategies and project management are too reliant on "The Plan".
When planners fail to recognize the limits of foresight and control, the plan can become a coercive and overly regulatory mechanism.?
Senior leaders, staffs, and subordinates mistakenly focus on meeting the requirements of the plan rather than deciding and acting effectively.
Moreover, this over-reliance on the plan makes it exceedingly difficult to adjust course as new developments, problems or other unexpected changes pop up. Ever see a project or strategy keep rolling on and one when it should have been changed or even stopped?
The takeaway is that good planning requires a good bit of built in flexibility and agilty.
"What if" scenarios and red team assumption testing can help planners develop these abilities and build them into the planning.
Kill metrics, milestones, and deadlines can also be useful.
Planning Pitfall #4 Coming Soon...
Be Your Absolute Best. Plan For Pitfalls.
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