“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” – Yogi Berra
The term Yogi-isms was created to describe Berra’s malapropisms and unintentional witticism. But they’re not just for laughs. As simple as the above statement is, nothing is more true.
“To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.” – Leonard Bernstein
“I ain’t Martin Luther King. I don’t need a dream. I have a plan.” – Spike Lee
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin
A plan is a systematic and organized approach to achieving specific goals or objectives. In the United States, plans are used in a variety of contexts, including business, government, and non-profit organizations. Some of the main purposes of a plan might include:
Source: ChatGPT. Question: For Americans what is the purpose of a plan?
“Making plans is at times a luxuriant, boastful pursuit of the mind by which one gives oneself an air of creative genius, demanding what one cannot do, criticizing what one cannot do better, and suggesting what one does not know where it is to be found.”
“Pläne machen ist mehrmalen eine üppige, prahlerische Geistesbeschäftigung, dadurch man sich ein Ansehen von schöpferischem Genie gibt, indem man fordert, was man selbst nicht leisten, tadelt, was man doch nicht besser machen kann, und vorschlägt, wovon man selbst nicht weiß, wo es zu finden ist.”
Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804), German philosopher.
“Kleine Geister jammern über mißlungene Pläne, große eilen zu neuer Tätigkeit. Doch wenn das Ziel, worauf man losstrebt, der Menschenvernunft nicht würdig ist, so sinkt der große Geist zum kleinen herab. Er wandelt mit Kraft, aber nicht im Lichte; er ist der Verschwender seines Vermögens, wenn er nicht Menschenwohl damit einlöset.”
“Small minds whine about failed plans, great ones rush to new activities. But if the goal towards which one is striving is not worthy of human reason, then the great mind sinks down to the small. He walks with power, but not in the light. He is the squanderer of his wealth if he does not redeem it for the good of mankind.”
Sebastian Mutschelle (1749 – 1800), Roman Catholic priest from Germany and writer during the Enlightenment.
For Americans a plan is an approach, a way to proceed. A good plan guides people who are collaborating. A good plan keeps them on a path towards a target.
“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.
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.