Write the Plan You Can; Don't Worry About the One You Can't
Write the plan you can.
Don’t worry about the one you can’t.
If you’ve not got a plan yet, and you’re blocked by the inability to make the plan you think your project deserves - get started on what you are able to do.?
If you’re thinking about Gantt charts and detailed plans and MS project - but you don’t have the information, or the clarity, or the tools or the ability to create the grand plan you imagine you need - just do the small plan that you can.?
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If you don’t have planning software,?use a spreadsheet until you can get better tools.?
If you don’t have have the details - just put down what you can.?
Anything that’s less than certain,?include it with a tag?so the reader can judge your confidence.?
If you only know what’s happening in the short term, but there’s something preventing you from knowing what happens after a certain point in time - then make a meticulously detailed short term plan, and a more vague long term plan.?
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If you haven’t learned the skills to plan,?fine - subscribe to the YT channel or connect with me?on LinkedIn and I’ll show you how.?
Until then just write a list of things that need to be done,?with any start and end dates you can provide.?
It’s better than nothing.?
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If you only know how to make a plan on a page, make one.?
If you only know how to make a task list, make one.
If you only know how to make a checklist, make one.?
Once you get started on what you can do,?it’s easy to take small steps to the next improvement.
You can build on your skills,?and learn in real time?as you develop your plan and your planning techniques.?
You can expand on the detail?as it becomes available?because now you have somewhere to capture it.?
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It will take?time,?but it’s time when you have something instead of nothing.?
And something is better than nothing.
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A bad plan on paper can be challenged and improved;??activities in your head can’t.?
A partial plan can still inform stakeholders;?unstructured thoughts can’t.
A work in progress can give confidence?that you’re doing the work;?an absent document can’t.?
So write the plan you can,?and we’ll figure out the rest later.?
Strategic Programme Manager, Coats
2 年A good reminder to all of us. You are always working with your best plan and continuous improvement (people, process and tools) just make it better
Chem. Eng., MBA.
2 年Right on target Stuart... first step on the list, "write the list" !!!
Senior Project Manager | Managing Portfolio, Commercial Weather Services, delivering tech to enable science
2 年Writing plan not a problem getting people to follow it a whole new ball game.
Programme Manager at HealthTrust Europe
2 年Jaz Kaur Thakrar
Learn 3 flexible frameworks: Purpose-Vision-Mission for foundational goals. Plan, Organize, Execute and Teach [P.O.E.T.] for execution, and A Simple Systems Approach for problem solving.
2 年E X A C T L Y - Too often we PMs believe we must be 110% organized with all of the information, details and understanding built in to our craft. This trait is likely the reason we've navigated into the project universe. This desire for perfection is the enemy of the good and a good start is usually all that is needed. It is clay thrown onto the wheel. The perfected form comes later.