Planning to Plan

How about some different perspective on the whole broad subject of planning?

For those of you who are less than enthusiastic about planning, you might relate to Mike Tyson, the boxer.  He said, "Everyone has a plan - until they get punched in the face."

I think that's exactly why Dwight Eisenhower said, "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything."   He went on to explain this seeming contradiction. "There is a very great distinction because when you are planning for an emergency you must start with this one thing: the very definition of 'emergency' is that it is unexpected, therefore it is not going to happen the way you are planning." What are you expecting if you are going in to a fight with Mike Tyson?

This from Tom Landry: "Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan."

Another football coach, Bear Bryant, said, "Have a plan. ...a plan for everything. A plan for practice, a plan for the game. A plan for being ahead, and a plan for being behind 20-0 at half, with your quarterback hurt and the phones dead, with it raining cats and dogs and no rain gear because the equipment man left it at home."

Bryant also said, "Follow the plan, and you'll be surprised how successful you can be. Most people don't have a plan. That's why it's easy to beat most folks."

And, finally, this from Henry David Thoreau. "In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, though they should fail immediately, they had netter aim at something high." 

Do you have a solid plan for coming year and beyond? Let's have a conversation.