Plans are nothing, planning is everything
25 October 2007Good posts start with quotes from famous thinkers, right?
Plans are nothing; planning is everything
– Dwight D. Eisenhower
And just for good measure, here’s another.
Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.
– Winston Churchill
Why do both these men place such importance on planning, but disregard the plan itself?
Planning enforces structured thinking to increase the chances of success.
Whether it is a business plan, a project plan, vacation planning, scalability planning, or a war general’s battle plan, there are some key benefits to thinking through a situation ahead of time.
- You think about what you need to accomplish
- You think about the steps required to get there
- You think about obstacles that you face that prevent you from reaching your goal
- You think about what can go wrong
All of these elements of a plan will have a new found clarity once you’ve taken the time to think them through. Even more so if you have to think it through enough to write it down. Even more if you have to present your plan to someone else. Yet again even more if you have to present your plan to someone whom you respect.
As you do more planning, your thoughts on what to do will solidify; as if you are turning the future into your own reality. It’s time to start carving where it is you want to be and how you want to get there. Stop reacting to what life is throwing at you and start planning your life to go where you want. Planning is the critical first step for any universe flexing. What plans do you have? Or, should I say, what planning have you done?
on March 11th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Good opinion! I like it!
on July 9th, 2008 at 10:02 am
[…] was fun. It was good for me to be in the hot seat, and the preparation I went through ahead of time did help focus me and think through a lot of challenges that lay […]