I was talking with my management team last week about the importance of staying ahead and planning.
I think that's the key to great management: to plan, operate, and control.
If an issue arises, it's usually tied to the planing stage.
People often neglect thorough planning because there's no immediate return on a good plan. (Which is kind of the whole point.)
And a good plan might be as preventative as it is productive, so it might be hard to measure its "results."
Recently I was talking to a high schooler who is going to college soon about what he planned to major in, and what he planned to do with his degree. But like most teenagers, he didn't have any plans.
His parents are about to shell out $200,000 for that education, and he's looking to sleepwalk through the four years.
It can be hard to stop, think, and try to plan your future when it's so wide open. But it's the planning that will actually keep it "open." Without a plan, the world and its distractions and obstacles can encroach on you pretty quickly.
Similarly, planning isn't always convenient - especially when you're busy all the time with your day-to-day stuff. But it's an integral part of success in all facets of life: health, spiritual, business and family. When you do have "downtime," you'd do well to consider that interval "planning time."
Remeber: No one plans to fail, they just fail to plan.
