How Important is Planning? (a real answer!)

How important is planning?

A reasonable question, right? What’s proportionate and how much should we do? We get told, after all, that “to fail to plan is to plan to fail”.

Or is it??

If you’ve clicked through because that’s question you’re curious about then I want to reflect that question back to you…

I don’t know.
How important is planning??

It seems to me that we’re so quick to take on norms and habits of what seems like a ‘professional’ way of working, that we never question what it’s for. We assume because it’s part of the the received wisdom, that it actually is wisdom, rather than a pat phrase that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Now, I’m not saying there’s never a purpose or a usefulness in planning—clearly that would be naive and foolish. I plan all the time—where I’m going on my cycle rides, what my day looks like, where I might want to go on holiday (ha! see how I slipped that one in ;-) ).

I could give you more exposition, more of what I think, but, it seems to me, the most valuable answers are the ones you find yourself, not the ones you might be taught in business school…

So, let me ask again,

How important is planning? And why are you really doing it?

With love,

Cathy