When the Future is Uncertain, How Important is A Long-Term Plan?
Many friends responded to my previous post on How Much Should You Think about the Long-Term? saying:
Even if the future is uncertain and we know it will change, we should always plan for the long-term. Without a plan, we cease to move forward.
I’m not necessarily in favor or against this philosophy. However I’m concerned about the following points:
- Effort: The effort required to put together an initial direction is very different from the effort required to put a (proper) plan together. Is that extra effort really worth it esp. when we know things will change?
- Attachment: Sometimes we get attached with our plans. Even when we see things are not quite inline with our plan, we think, its because we’ve not given enough time or we’ve not done justice to it.
- Conditioned: Sometimes I notice that when we have a plan in place, knowingly or unknowingly we stop watching out for certain things. Mentally we are at ease and we build a shield around us. We get in the groove of our plan and miss some wonderful opportunities along the way.
The amount of planning required seems to be directly proportional to the size of your team.
If your team consists of a couple of people, you can go fairly lightweight. And that’s my long-term plan to deal with uncertainty.
