47 Planning

Factor II: Operating Skills Cluster E: Getting Organized

Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now. – Alan
Lakein

SECTION 1: YOUR DEVELOPMENT NEED(S)

UNSKILLED
ƒ Doesn't plan for much
ƒ May be a seat-of-the-pants performer scratching it out at the last minute
ƒ Doesn't follow an orderly method of setting goals and laying out work
ƒ May be uncomfortable with structure and process flow
ƒ May be disdainful of planning and come across to others as loose or too simple
ƒ May not have the patience to establish goals and objectives, scope out difficulties, plan for
task completion, develop schedules, and do roadblock management
ƒ May be confusing to work for and with
ƒ May be de-motivating to others who work with him/her
ƒ Select one to three of the competencies below to use as a substitute for this competency if
you decide not to work on it directly.
SUBSTITUTES: 18,20,24,35,39,51,52,62

SKILLED
ƒ Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks and projects
ƒ Sets objectives and goals
ƒ Breaks down work into the process steps
ƒ Develops schedules and task/people assignments
ƒ Anticipates and adjusts for problems and roadblocks
ƒ Measures performance against goals
ƒ Evaluates results

OVERUSED SKILL
ƒ May be overly dependent on rules, regulations, procedures, and structure
ƒ May leave out the human element of the work
ƒ May be inflexible and have trouble with rapid change
ƒ Select one to three of the competencies listed below to work on to compensate for an
overuse of this skill.
COMPENSATORS: 2,3,10,14,15,26,31,32,33,40,46,57,60,64

SOME CAUSES
ƒ Arrogant; don't need it
ƒ Impatient
ƒ Low sense of structure and process
ƒ Need for simplicity
ƒ Time management; just don't get around to it

LEADERSHIP ARCHITECT® FACTORS AND CLUSTERS

This competency is in the Operating Skills Factor (II). This competency is in the Getting Organized
Cluster (E) with: 39, 62. You may want to check other competencies in the same Factor/Cluster
for related tips.

47 Planning 1 of 7
THE MAP
Nothing helps move things along better than a good plan. It helps the people who have to work
under the plan. It leads to better use of resources. It gets things done faster. It helps anticipate
problems before they occur. It is one of the aspects of managing others that universally receives
a positive response. A good plan leaves more time to do other things secure in the knowledge
that things are on track and proceeding as planned.

SECTION 2: LEARNING ON YOUR OWN

THESE SELF-DEVELOPMENT REMEDIES WILL HELP YOU BUILD YOUR SKILL(S)

SOME REMEDIES

1. Lay out tasks and work. Most successful projects begin with a good plan. What do I need to
accomplish? What are the goals? What's the timeline? What resources will I need? How many of
the resources do I control? Who controls the rest of the resources—people, funding, tools,
materials, support—I need? Lay out the work from A to Z. Many people are seen as lacking a
plan because they don't write down the sequence or parts of the work and leave something
out. Ask others to comment on ordering and what's missing. More help? – See #52 Process
Management and #63 Total Work Systems (e.g., TQM/ISO/Six Sigma).

2. Set the plan. Buy a flow charting and/or project planning software that does PERT and GANTT
charts. Become an expert in its use. Use the output of the software to communicate your plans
to others. Use the flow charts in your presentations.

3. Set goals and measures. Nothing keeps projects on time and on budget like a goal, a plan
and a measure. Set goals for the whole project and the sub-tasks. Plan for all. Set measures so
you and others can track progress against the goals. More help? – See #35 Managing and
Measuring Work.

4. Manage multiple plans or aspects of big plans. Many attempts to accomplish complex plans
involve managing parallel tracks or multiple tasks at the same time. It helps if you have a master
plan. Good planning decreases the chances you will lose control by spreading yourself too thin.

5. Manage efficiently. Plan the budget and manage against it. Spend carefully. Have a reserve
if the unanticipated comes up. Set up a funding time line so you can track ongoing
expenditures against plan.

6. You need to match people and tasks. People are different. They have different strengths and
have differing levels of knowledge and experience. Instead of thinking of everyone as equal,
think of them as different. Really equal treatment is giving people tasks to do that match their
capacities. More help? – See #56 Sizing Up People.

7. Vision the plan in process. What could go wrong? Run scenarios in your head. Think along
several paths. Rank the potential problems from highest likelihood to lowest likelihood. Think
about what you would do if the highest likelihood things were to occur. Create a contingency
plan for each. Pay attention to the weakest links which are usually groups or elements you have
the least interface with or control over (perhaps someone in a remote location, a consultant or
supplier). Stay doubly in touch with the potential weak links. More help? – See #51 Problem
Solving.

47 Planning 2 of 7
8. Set up a process to monitor progress against the plan. How would you know if the plan is on
time? Could you estimate time to completion or percent finished at any time? Give people
involved in implementing the plan progress feedback as you go.

9. Find someone in your environment who is better at planning than you are to see how it's
done. How does that compare against what you typically do? Try to increase doing the things
he/she does. Ask for feedback from some people who have had to follow your plans. What did
they like? What did they find difficult?

10. Get others to help. Share your ideas about the project with others, possibly the people you
need to support you later. Get their input on the plan. Delegate creating the plan to people
who are better at it than you are. You provide the goals and what needs to be done, and let
others create the detailed plan. More help? – See #18 Delegation and #33 Listening.

SECTION 3: LEARNING FROM FEEDBACK

THESE SOURCES WOULD GIVE YOU THE MOST ACCURATE AND DETAILED FEEDBACK ON YOUR
SKILL(S)

1. Direct Boss
Your direct boss has important information about you, your performance, and your prospects.
The challenge is to get this information. There are formal processes (e.g., performance
appraisals). There are day-to-day opportunities. To help, signal your boss that you want and can
handle direct and timely feedback. Many bosses have trouble giving feedback, so you will have
to work at it over a period of time.

2. Direct Reports
Across a variety of settings, your direct reports probably see you the most. They are the recipients
of most of your managerial behaviors. They know your work. They can compare you with former
bosses. Since they may hesitate to give you negative feedback, you have to set the
atmosphere to make it easier for them. You have to ask.

3. Past Associates/Constituencies
When confronted with a present performance problem, some claim, "I wasn't like that before; it
must be the current situation." When feedback is available from former associates, about 50%
support that claim. In the other half of the cases, the people were like that before and probably
didn't know it. It sometimes makes sense to access the past to clearly see the present.

4. Peers and Colleagues

Peers and colleagues have a special social and working relationship. They attend staff meetings
together, share private views, get feedback from the same boss, travel together, and are
knowledgeable about each other's work. You perhaps let your guard down more around peers
and act more like yourself. They can be a valuable source of feedback.

SECTION 4: LEARNING FROM DEVELOP-IN-PLACE ASSIGNMENTS

THESE PART-TIME DEVELOP-IN-PLACE ASSIGNMENTS WILL HELP YOU BUILD YOUR SKILL(S)

ƒ Install a new process or system (computer system, new policies, new process, new
procedures, etc.).
ƒ Plan a new site for a building (plant, field office, headquarters, etc.).
ƒ Plan an off-site meeting, conference, convention, trade show, event, etc.
ƒ Manage the purchase of a major product, equipment, materials, program, or system.
ƒ Plan a picnic or annual outing for a company or unit.

47 Planning 3 of 7
ƒ Manage the visit of a VIP (member of top management, government official, outside
customer, foreign visitor, etc.).
ƒ Seek out and use a seed budget to create and pursue a personal idea, product, or service.
ƒ Work on a team writing a proposal to obtain significant government or foundation grants or
funding of an activity.
ƒ Design a training course in an area you're not an expert in.
ƒ Work on a team that's deciding whom to keep and whom to let go in a layoff, shutdown,
de-layering, or divestiture.

SECTION 5: LEARNING FROM FULL-TIME JOBS

THESE FULL-TIME JOBS OFFER THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD YOUR SKILL(S)

1. Chair of Projects/Task Forces

The core demands for qualifying as Chair of a Project/Task Force assignment are: (1) Leader of a
group with an important and specific goal. (2) Tight deadline. (3) Success or failure will be
evident. (4) High-visibility sponsor. (5) Learning something on the fly. (6) Must get others to
cooperate. (7) Usually six months or more. Three types of Projects/Task Forces: (1) New ideas,
products, services, or systems (e.g., product/service/program research and development,
creation/installation/launch of a new system, programs like TQM, ISO and Six Sigma, positive
discipline). (2) Formal negotiations and relationships (e.g., acquisitions; divestitures; agreements;
joint ventures; licensing arrangements; franchising; dealing with unions, governments,
communities, charities, customers, and relocations). (3) Big one-time events (e.g., working on a
major presentation for the board; organizing significant meetings or conferences;
reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, or relocations; working on visions, charters, strategies,
other time-urgent issues and problems).

2. Fix-Its/Turnarounds
The core demands to qualify as a Fix-it or Turnaround assignment are: (1) Cleaning up a mess. (2)
Serious people issues/problems like credibility/performance/morale. (3) Tight deadline. (4)
Serious business performance failure. (5) Last chance to fix. Four types of Fix-its/Turnarounds: (1)
Fixing a failed business/unit involving taking control, stopping losses, managing damage,
planning the turnaround, dealing with people problems, installing new processes and systems,
and rebuilding the spirit and performance of the unit. (2) Managing sizable disasters like
mishandled labor negotiations and strikes, thefts, history of significant business losses, poor staff,
failed leadership, hidden problems, fraud, public relations nightmares, etc. (3) Significant
reorganization and restructuring (e.g., stabilizing the business, re-forming unit, introducing new
systems, making people changes, resetting strategy and tactics). (4) Significant system/process
breakdown (e.g., MIS, financial coordination processes, audits, standards, etc.) across units
requiring working from a distant position to change something, providing advice and counsel,
and installing or implementing a major process improvement or system change outside your
own unit and/or with customers outside the organization.

3. Scale Assignments
Core requirements to qualify as a Scale (size) shift assignment are: (1) Sizable jump/shift in the
size of the job in areas like number of people, number of layers in organization, size of budget,
number of locations, volume of activity, tightness of deadlines. (2) Medium to low complexity;
mostly repetitive and routine processes and procedures. (3) Stable staff and business. (4) Stable
operations. (5) Often slow, steady growth.

4. Start-Ups
The core demands to qualify as a start from scratch are: (1) Starting something new for you
and/or for the organization. (2) Forging a new team. (3) Creating new systems/facilities/staffs/

47 Planning 4 of 7
programs/procedures. (4) Contextual adversity (e.g., uncertainty, government regulation,
unions, difficult environment). Seven types of start from scratches: (1) Planning, building, hiring,
and managing (e.g., building a new facility, opening up a new location, moving a unit or
company). (2) Heading something new (e.g., new product, new service, new line of business,
new department/function, major new program). (3) Taking over a group/product/service/
program that had existed for less than a year and was off to a fast start. (4) Establishing overseas
operations. (5) Implementing major new designs for existing systems. (6) Moving a successful
program from one unit to another. (7) Installing a new organization-wide process as a full-time
job like Total Work Systems (e.g., TQM/ISO/Six Sigma).

SECTION 6: LEARNING FROM YOUR PLAN

THESE ADDITIONAL REMEDIES WILL HELP MAKE THIS DEVELOPMENT PLAN MORE EFFECTIVE FOR
YOU

LEARNING TO LEARN BETTER

1. Plan Backwards From the Ideal

Envision what an ideal outcome would look like and plan backwards. What is the series of events
that would have to take place to get there? What would people do? What would have to be
done? How would people react? How would things play out? Could you plan it forward and get
to the same outcome?

2. Envision Yourself Succeeding

Envision yourself succeeding. Examine the image in detail: what you are doing, what you are
feeling, how you are reacting to others, how others are reacting to you, how the parts fit
together. Can you then play that out in the real situation and get to the same outcome?

3. Rehearse Successful Tactics/Strategies/Actions

Mentally rehearse how you will act before going into the situation. Try to anticipate how others
will react, what they will say, and how you'll respond. Check out the best and worst cases; play
out both scenes. Check your feelings in conflict or worst-case situations; rehearse staying under
control.

4. Study People Who Have Successfully Done What You Need to Do

Interview people who have already done what you're planning to do and check your plan
against what they did. Try to summarize their key tactics, strategies, and insights; adjust your plan
accordingly.

5. Preview a Plan With a Test Audience

Before committing to a plan, find someone agreeable to a wide-ranging discussion about the
issue or problem you face. Explore all sides and options; go with the flow; let what you need to
do emerge from the process; develop a plan as you go.
Learning From Experience, Feedback and Other People

6. Learning From Observing Others

Observe others. Find opportunities to observe without interacting with your model. This enables
you to objectively study the person, note what he/she is doing or not doing, and compare that
with what you would typically do in similar situations. Many times you can learn more by
watching than asking. Your model may not be able to explain what he/she does or may be an
unwilling teacher.

47 Planning 5 of 7
7. Getting Feedback From Bosses and Superiors
Many bosses are reluctant to give negative feedback. They lack the managerial courage to
face people directly with criticism. You can help by soliciting feedback and setting the tone.
Show them you can handle criticism and that you are willing to work on issues they see as
important.

8. Getting Feedback From Direct Reports

Direct reports often fear reprisals for giving negative feedback about bosses, whether in a formal
process, like a questionnaire, or informally and face-to-face. Even with a guarantee of
confidentiality, some are still hesitant. If you want feedback from direct reports, you have to set
a positive tone and never act out of revenge.
Learning From Courses

9. Job Skills
Most organizations and professional associations offer job skills training. The key is to find a course
that has the right content and offers the opportunity for practicing the job skills. It's helpful if the
instructors have actually performed the skills in situations similar to your own. Most organizations
offer a variety of orientation events. They are designed to communicate strategies, charters,
missions, goals, and general information and offer an opportunity for people to meet each
other. They are short in duration and offer limited opportunities for learning anything beyond
general context and background.

10. Sending Others to Courses

If you are responsible for managing the development of others and, as part of that, sending
them to courses, prepare them beforehand. Don't send them as tourists. Meet with them before
and after the course. Tell them why they need this course. Tell them what you expect them to
learn. Give them feedback on why you think they need the course. Agree ahead of time how
you will measure and monitor learning after they return. If possible, offer a variety of courses for
your employees to choose from. Have them give you a report shortly after they return. If
appropriate, have them present what they learned to the rest of your staff. After they return,
provide opportunities for using the new skills with safe cover and low risk. Give them practice
time before expecting full exercise of the new skills. Be supportive during early unsteadiness. Give
continuous feedback on progress.

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless,
but planning is indispensable. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

SUGGESTED READINGS
Axson, David A.J. Best Practices in Planning and Management Reporting. New York: John Wiley
& Sons, Inc., 2003.

Bacon, Terry R. and David G. Pugh. Winning Behavior: What the Smartest, Most Successful
Companies Do Differently. New York: AMACOM, 2003.

Bandrowski, James F. Corporate Imagination Plus—Five Steps to Translating Innovative Strategies

Into Action. New York: The Free Press, 2000.

Collins, James C. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't. New
York: HarperCollins, 2001.

Dutka, Alan F. Competitive Intelligence for the Competitive Edge. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business
Books, 1999.

47 Planning 6 of 7
Hamel, Gary. Leading the Revolution. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002.

Jackson, Paul Z. and Mark McKergow. The Solutions Focus. Yarmouth, ME: Nicholas Brealey
Publishing, 2002.

Mitroff, Ian I. and Gus Anagnos. Managing Crises Before They Happen. New York: AMACOM,
2001.

Prahalad, C.K. and Venkat Ramaswamy. The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value
With Customers. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2004.

Smith, Preston G. and Donald G. Reinertsen. Developing Products in Half the Time: New Rules,
New Tools. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997.

Vega, Gina. A Passion for Planning: Financials, Operations, Marketing, Management, and Ethics.
Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2001.

Williams, Paul B. Getting a Project Done on Time. New York: AMACOM, 1996.

47 Planning 7 of 7