“

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

~ Author Unknown

Planning

Planning is another important function of management. All organizations plan. Making sure that planning is completed effectively involves following all the steps in the planning process.

The Planning Process

The process of planning effectively involves five steps. They are:

1. Define your objectives;
2. Determine where you are in relation to your objectives;
3. Anticipate future events;
4. Consider alternatives and make the plan;
5. Implement your plan and evaluate the results.

Let’s explore the details of each of the 5 steps in the planning process:

Define your Objectives

This first step is a critical element of planning. It is about identifying your results or outcomes in clear and logical ways. This is really about identifying where you want to go and what you want to achieve. Your desired objectives should be clearly defined and they need to be quite specific in nature. They also need to be measurable - that is, you need to be able to gauge if you met that desired outcome or not, and how far off the mark you were.

Examine the following table to understand clearly defined and measurable objectives:

Determine where you are in relation to your objectives.

This step involves taking a look at and considering your current state in relation to your objectives. You need to know where it is you currently stand in relation to reaching the objectives. This step often also involves identifying the strengths that will help you reach those objectives and possible weaknesses that might hinder them.

Anticipate future events.

What could potentially happen in the future? This third step revolves around potential scenarios in the future and anticipating what might happen. For example, in the city crime rate objective examined earlier, a potential future event might be that the police budget funding is decreasing by 10% in the next year. This could potentially mean fewer police officers on the streets working, and might be a huge factor affecting the desired outcome of reducing crime rates by 50%.

Consider alternatives and make the plan.

A well-organized plan takes all the alternatives into consideration and weighs the advantages and disadvantages of each accordingly. This step involves selecting the best possible alternative based on the desired objective. The detailed plan is created and it clearly outlines what must be done in order to follow it.

Implement your plan and evaluate the results.

The plan is put into action. Action is taken to measure and check progress along the way. Sometimes minor changes to the plan are made along the way to make sure objectives are being met. A second, and very important part of this last step in the planning process, is evaluating the results. This can only be done effectively if the objectives were clearly defined in measurable terms, as explained in step number one.

Benefits of Planning

There is no arguing that planning can help organizations reach their goals and objectives. Planning also provides other organizational benefits. The most commonly identified benefits that planning provides organizations are:

1. Improved Flexibility;
2. Improved Coordination and Control;
3. Better Use of Time.

Creativity in Planning

Often, identifying your objectives, anticipating future events, thinking about potential alternatives, and implementing a plan of action are not easy and straightforward tasks.  Managers and leaders must often think creatively and “outside of the box” in order to make the best possible plans. Sometimes, it might first appear as though an objective is impossible to reach resulting from a lack of resources, funding, expertise, rules and regulations, etc. but with a little creative thinking and brainstorming, it might be possible. Creativity is often an essential part of making and implementing plans.

Problem Solving Strategies

In addition to creative thinking, another important consideration in the planning process is problem solving.