When is it OK to plan?

Are there some situations where it's bad to have a plan?

OK, I'm hoping that you answered that with a "NO".  I mean really, when is it EVER a BAD thing to go into a [business] situation with a plan?  If you can have a plan, shouldn't you?  "Begin with the end in mind."

When I speak to sales professionals about planning, I get mixed responses.  Some people respond with a simple head nod (as in 'Yeah, I already know that' or 'I already do that').  Other times I get passionate, fervent agreement - dare I say "foaming at the mouth" -- you get the sense they've got someone else on their mind who isn't doing it.  And at other times I get passionate disagreement -- you get the sense that they're frustrated with someone else's attempt to control them and/or get them to follow a process that they don't agree with.

Stephen R. Covey popularized the concept of the clock and the compass as a way to describe the apparent conflict that many people see between Efficiency and Effectiveness.  Efficiency is the realm of time, the clock.  Effectiveness is the realm of direction, the compass.  Covey's point?  Effectiveness must come BEFORE efficiency -- it does not serve us (or anyone else) to be efficient at ineffective things.

Planning is about effectiveness.

Sometimes we are so focused on planning that nothing gets done; this might lead one to advocate "no planning" for fear of Analysis Paralysis. Those who don't plan often say that they are acting in the name of efficiency (the clock).

Sometimes we are so focused on DO-ing that we suffer the consequences of winging it -- we're not adequately prepared, and this causes us to lose time and money; this might lead one to advocate "being super prepared" for fear of the consequences of the Ready-Fire-Aim approach.  Those who advocate an overly-complex approach to planning often act in the name of effectiveness, but in a way that is out of balance.

Avoid both extremes.

It's possible to make a plan (avoiding ready-fire-aim and all of the lost opportunity and waste that comes with it) while at the same time avoiding analysis paralysis (and all of the lost opportunity and waste that comes with it).  But there is a price to be paid.

If you're having trouble finding the time to make a plan, there are at least a couple of things you may want to consider.  (1) What's your planning process?  (2) Are you in constant crisis mode? 

What exactly are you concerned about when someone tells you that you should "take the time" or "take more time" to make a pre-call plan?  Is the concern about not being willing to abandon a bad plan?  Is it about lack of know-how (as in, I don't know how to make a good plan)?  Is the concern about the act of planning itself (as in, it's bad to spend time doing that), the degree of planning (the amount of time you'll be required to invest in a specific process), or the timing and quality of the act of planning itself?  What does the word "plan" mean to you?  What does a good plan look like?  How about a bad plan?

The point of planning is to be prepared for what can come.  Knowing this, it's also important to "BE" in the moment that you are executing your plan and, if the situation changes, you should be willing to throw out the plan and "DO" as the situation requires.  Adequate planning helps you to be prepared for what might come, to be centered, and have some idea of how to respond.  You can't control everything, but you can control you.

One of my favorite quotes:  "In battle, I have found plans to be useless while the act of planning is invaluable."  -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Every situation deserves a plan.  It's an issue of respect - for others as well as yourself - and it's an issue of being prepared to do what you need to do.  Doing requires Being.  Planning helps you by keeping you centered.

How much planning is often the issue at center stage.  Let the situation be your guide.  Do just enough planning to Be Prepared -- no more, no less.  Period.