Ten tips for more effective planning

Gene Mage

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

It’s the process, stupid. Gene C. Mage

When results are on the line, successful people make plans. What does planning mean? Planning is thinking through, in advance, what we want to accomplish, how we must accomplish it, and the implications of what we intend to do. Want to plan well? Here are some ideas that have proven useful over the years.

Focus on outcomes. Spend a maximum amount of time figuring out what, exactly, things will look like if you succeed. How much money will the plan produce? How much territory will you take? How will you know if you are successful? Describe, in detail, the desired state of affairs you wish to call “success”.
Focus on strengths. Time wasted working on weakness is much better spent leveraging strengths. What are you really good at? What does your organization do particularly well? What things do people really value about your firm? Plan around those things you do well.
Focus on possibilities. Benjamin Franklin once observed that, “Most people quit before they start.” Put another way, they analyze all the problems, without equal attention to all the solutions.Be resourceful. Focus on all the resources you do have, rather than all the reasons you cannot do something.
Consider contingencies. Make a long list of what “might” happen, and plan for what you would do in case things do not play out as predicted. As Dwight Eisenhower observed in the quote above, things rarely, if ever, turn out as planned. We can, however, be prepared to deal with surprises, rather than quit at the first sign of trouble.
Count the cost. Make a realistic assessment of the time, energy, and money required to reach your goal. Things always take longer and cost more. A clear-eyed analysis up front will help you go into the battle with sufficient reserves.
Cover the bases. Plans affect many different people. Identify every person who will be impacted by the plan, and consider their needs. Think about how your plan will affect other departments, your leaders, your sponsors or investors, even your family.
Divide and conquer. Once you have figured out where you are going, and how to get there, break down the plan into the “Three Tees”: Tasks, Timings, and Titles. What needs to be done, when must it be done, and who will do it.? Create a detailed project “master plan” to help break down a big messy undertaking into manageable chunks.
Delegate thoughtfully. How well you delegate work up front has a lot to do with the results you get when deadlines hit. Use the “Dr. GRACE” model: Desired results, guidelines, resources, accountability, context, and evaluation.” Use a checklist so make sure that assignments, roles, and responsibilities for the people who must make the plan work are crystal clear.
Flex. Someone once told me, “Plan in pencil.” Be ready and willing to adapt to real-world business conditions you encounter as you put your plan into motion. How well you respond is just as important as how well you plan. In fact, the better you plan, the better able you are to respond to the surprises.
Follow-up. Relentlessly follow up on that which you put into motion. Make calls. Check quality. Review progress. Do what it takes to translate good intentions into reality. Never settle for “I’ll try”. Successful people live in a world of promises made and kept, not “I’ll try” or “something came up.” Insist that people make and keep commitments.

Gene C. Mage is a leadership Author, Speaker, and Syndicated Business Columnist. For free ideas for improving your leadership, visit www.makingitwork.com.