3-year plans. 5-year strategic road maps. Long-term thinking… We do them; we write them; we do our best to stick to them – and then…
BAM! Reality hits – think back a year – would any of us have really predicted today’s economic and business environments?
“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry….” So said (in Scottish) Robert Burns – and I have to thank Daniel Morel for sharing this quote and the next as inspiration for my Ramble this week.
So what does this mean – we don’t plan? We don’t think long-term? We just muddle along – go with the flow – leave it all to Karma and Kismet?
When I was in the Army (as was Daniel, with the same experience), we were taught in our strategy planning course – that all plans were merely a platform for change. But let me tell you that platform was solid.
And there you are…
The idea is to marshal resources; know yourself and your environment; build confidence; compile data and open communications channels and links. The idea is also not to get locked into anything – remain fluid, nimble, think on your feet and be confident.
And here is where it gets interesting – if you have built all that up – you still have a plan – just a different one than you began with, and no doubt a different one than you will end up with.
And, as experience has taught all of us – it’s when it all hits the fan that it all goes awry…
Listen:
“Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth.”
~Mike Tyson
If you follow Mike – and if you have followed the story of his new movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ9-rCyakME,
then you know he had no platform – when he got punched – really punched, he fell apart – it all went awry…
Build that platform; think big; don’t be afraid to change and change again, and when you get punched – and you will get punched – nothing will ever stop you.
What’s your take?
I remember well Tyson’s :40 second first round knockout in 1987.
If a client delivers such a blow to us it is painful indeed. We need to box defensively in these times.
I was taught that the first rule of boxing is “don’t get hit.” Tyson fell apart largely because he never worried about getting hit, let alone what to do after he got hit. The same might be said about the AIGs of the world. So while we certainly need a plan for after we get hit, we also need a plan for avoiding the hit in the first place.
Did Tyson fall apart largely because he never changed his plan? It didn’t evolve as it needed to. It was one plan … head down, swing punches, charge … for his whole career. As he got older, this plan didn’t reflect his declining physical assets so he got punched and he bit back – so to speak.
However, is the learning more that all plans need flexibility and need to react to changing conditions (both your own, your competitors and the spectators/marketplace)?
All plans need to be flexible — as quoted — plans are a platform for change — if we build them like that — they perform — if not they just break.
Someone once said the only constant is change – if wee keep relying on doing exactly what we’ve done before, then we’re bound to share the same fate as the redcoats in 1776.
As they say — Insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results….
New plans certainly must be made to keep one step ahead of your opponents, whether they are reactive (block) or proactive (punch). If everyone falls back on maintaining the status quo, in the words of Mr. Tyson, “we’ll all fade into Bolivian.”
as in “its not over till its over…”
No tener plan es buscar un tesoro sin un mapa.
Observo una regla severa, sin embargo, a continuaciónn busco con inteligencia en todas las transformaciones.
Tener empatia, pensar en personas, sentir y leer contextos
Not having a plan is to look for treasure without a map.
I notice a severe rule, however, continuaciónn looking smart in all transformations.
Empathic, people think, feel and read contexts.
I really thank to one who wrote this article. I have always been reading and writing texts like this in blogs. Also, I, as a daily writer, present my respects to everyone. I just watched videos like this in youtube izle. I research in all areas…
I think people must first research before writing….
Thanks for sharing these info with us! I was reading something similar on youtube website that i was researching. thanks…