“It is an ill plan that cannot be changed.”
– Unattributed
“Even when there’s only one destination, there’s never just one way to get there.”
– Steve Heston, The Heston Group
One of the reasons we love Milwaukee is the lack of traffic problems. Oh, sure, there are some days that something breaks down, but compared to Chicago, Austin, San Francisco — some of my other favorite cities — even on the days that the main arteries are messed up, there are plenty of “capillaries” to get us where we need to go, and usually on time.
The key, as with planning, is to know when to get off the freeway.
Planning is about the destination.
If your plan doesn’t have any off ramps, it doesn’t make it a bad plan. It just increases the likelihood that you ends up in a traffic jam or one of those chain-reaction crashes.
A quick story from the farm. Our best crop-producing ground was the creek-bottom land, which was highly susceptible to flooding. Dad knew this, so he had to plan his work to give him the option of re-planting if the crop got wiped out by Mother Nature. He also had to hedge commodity prices in case it was too late to re-plant. Those were his “off-ramps.” He focused on the few things he could control to minimize the impacts of the things he couldn’t. And, it’s not just about knowing where the off-ramps are, it’s giving yourself time to hit them…
If your plan is about the process, or the journey, any need to exit will wreck it. If it’s about the destination — the goal, the desired outcome — then, the idea of alternate routes won’t paralyze you — it will better ensure that you arrive, in one piece.
Planning for route changes is a great way to make a difference.
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