Planning Ahead
"A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit."
D. Elton Trueblood, American author and theologian
This quote made me think about the story of the church that needed to do some major repairs on the beams of its roof. The beams were made of huge cedar timbers and lumber wasn't made that big anymore. The contractor was meeting with the church's staff to discuss the problem when the head groundskeeper happened to come into the meeting. He told the contractor that the problem was solved because the church had planted more than enough cedar trees for this exact reason when the church was built more than two hundred years before.
Now that's good planning.
Please let me know your thoughts about the importance of planning in the comments section.
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Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing.”
—Albert Schweitzer
About Abraham
Vice President and General Counsel Abraham Mertens is an attorney who has represented businesses as corporate counsel and in litigation. Mertens graduated from University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and served as an extern at the Ninth Circuit...
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Planning. Hmmm.... Speaking
Planning. Hmmm.... Speaking personally, whenever I plan something ahead, it generally never turns out as I expected. Spontaneous decisions, following "irrational" gut instinct, however, often work out for me.
Still, on a serious note, I think there are two ways of planning. One, involves trying to anticipate potential problems, and working them into your strategies. There is a school of thought which says that is the best way of attracting the said problems. The second one, involves planning an ultimate goal, focusing on it, but not concerning oneself too much with potential problems on the way. I would subscribe to the latter (if I were ever to learn to plan ahead).
Of course, different types of planning apply to different contexts.
My barrister friends need to plan the defence of their clients.
As a teacher of English as a Foreign Language, I have been trained to plan lessons. However, I find that the most inspiring, exciting and well-received lessons are the ones I improvise, off the top of my head.
What are your thoughts of planning?
Thanks for this brain-stretching question.
Planning and Doing Not at Odds
Hello Katherine,
I was so glad to get your thoughtful comment.
I sense that you feel that there is a tension between planning and acting/success. If you plan excessively and aren't willing to be flexible, there can be a restrictive and negative side to planning. As the great German general Helmuth von Moltke the Elder said, "no plan survives contact with the enemy." If we approach planning with the understanding that it is an exercise and does not substitute for execution, I think we're more likely to succeed.
That said, the point of the quote that I shared was about the meaning of life and the importance of realizing that our purpose is to leave the world better than when we entered it. Finding out how to do that requires a bit of planning but also the flexibility to do what needs to be done.