“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin
Franklin collected many aphorisms in his Old Farmer’s Almanac. Freeing a country from under the powerful arm of a great power is going to take some planning, which Franklin knew was the first step towards success.
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
“If you take on a lot, you can also fail a lot.” Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Definition: Planning is the fundamental management function, which involves deciding beforehand, what is to be done, when is it to be done, how it is to be done and who is going to do it. It is an intellectual processwhich lays down an organisation’s objectives and develops various courses of action, by which the organisation can achieve those objectives. It maps out exactly, how to attain a specific goal.
MerriamWebster online states four definitions for the term plan. Duden, the famous German dictionary, offers almost the exact same definitions. We’re interested in the second definition: “a detailed formulation of a program of action.”
1. A drawing or diagram drawn on a plane: such as a top or horizontal view of an object, a large-scale map of a small area.
2. A method for achieving an end, an often customary method of doing something, a detailed formulation of a program of action.
3. An orderly arrangement of parts of an overall design or objective.
4. A detailed program (as for payment or the provision of some service), i.e. pension plan.
