I hope you came to the same conclusion I did, that successful management cries out for a plan. I just don’t think it is possible to judiciously use means (wisely use resources) to accomplish ends (to achieve goals/objectives) without a plan. This seems like common sense to me but years ago I had a supervisor/boss (a really nice and smart guy) who wouldn’t let us do any planning. His objection centered around his belief that the future could not be predicted with any degree of accuracy. He was right of course but he didn’t understand what planning is all about.
If you have done much reading on this subject you know by now that there are quite a few different definitions of planning. In case you haven’t done much reading on the subject (not exactly recreational reading I admit) let me share a couple definitions I have run across. 1) Selecting from alternative courses of action for accomplishing objectives. Or how about this… 2) The conscious and deliberate process of gathering, organizing, and analyzing information in order to make better choices and decisions relating to the future of the family and the individuals within. I could share several more definitions but I think you can begin to get the idea of what we are talking about. All the other definitions say pretty much the same thing.
Planning is a new way of thinking. You old people may remember Professor Harold Hill in the Music Man (you young people might want to rent this; it’s a great movie). Do you remember what the professor’s famous method was? It was the THINK method. Well planning is a whole new way of thinking for most people. And, yes, I want you to start thinking about the way you live your lives. No more coasting and just letting life happen.
Another important point about planning is that it is not a one-time event. It is a very conscious, deliberate process. And, here’s the challenging part, it’s an ongoing, never ending process that should go on for the rest of your lives.
You are no doubt familiar with the expression “There’s more than one way to skin a cat”. I’m not sure why anybody would want to but the same idea applies to planning. The process of planning involves lots of decisions. There will be lots of alternatives to consider and lots of choices to make. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. What about God’s sovereignty? Yes, I believe in God’s sovereignty too but I also believe He gives us the freedom to make decisions on our own. I don’t know about you but I’ve got lots of evidence that God let’s me make decisions because I have made some pretty stupid ones that He could have improved on if He were doing it for me. And of course, He was watching all the time. I don’t pretend to understand how that works but I believe that the Bible teaches that both are true.
Prov 18:13 addresses this issue of making choices in a very specific way (check it out from the Living Bible). This is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible. My Aunt Frieda did a counted cross stitch of this verse for me years ago and I have it framed and hanging on the wall in my office. It was the motto of my consulting firm when I was in the consulting business.
Planning is a pro-active, pragmatic, revolutionary tool that, when employed properly, determines what the future will be. It is action oriented, not an academic exercise. We aren’t going to let the future just happen anymore.
I could go on and on about planning but I’ve probably already told you more than you wanted to know. The planning process boils down to a very simple concept. My personal favorite definition is ……………….
Planning is simply………
deciding in advance:
- WHAT to do.
- HOW to do it.
- WHO will do it.
- WHEN it will be done.
- HOW MUCH it will cost.
- WHERE the MONEY will come from.
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Prov 18:13 “What a shame, yes how stupid, to decide before knowing the facts.” (TLB)