Articles—Issue 13, August 2006 Back to Article Index Tying Decisions to Planning I’m not sure which is worse; planning without decisions or decisions without planning. They are both troublesome and both prevalent in business. I’ve run across the latter (decisions without planning) far more frequently but have also recently seen the prior (planning with no decisions).   Decisions without planning might work well for a brilliant entrepreneur—for a while. This is a well researched and documented problem. While there are studies that identify the financial advantage that using a more formal planning approach will bring, many still chose to avoid planning. Given how daunting the process can seem—particularly if one tries to use a large company process in a smaller organization—perhaps it is no wonder that people avoid it. Unfortunately, most planning is an “event” done once a year that ends up being divorced from the “real” decisions that must be made day-in and day-out. If your decisions don’t tie to your strategy, either the planning process is broken or you’re making the wrong decision. Think about planning not so much as a complicated process, but rather as a conversation that will yield a common understanding of the direction you've decided to take. It pays financial rewards, allows for effective decision making and fosters alignment within the organization.   Another variation of ineffective planning is when the business owner/executive uses planning as an excuse for not making decisions. I have seen this more frequently in second generation businesses or those enterprises that were founded by an entrepreneur but are now run by someone without the same level of confidence. While a planning process should empower this individual to make decisions, some can’t get out of planning mode. Sometimes this business executive is like a rat in a Skinner box. When they are shocked for no apparent reason, they eventually sit in the middle of the cage and do nothing. This is called “learned helplessness”.   Planning must lead to decisions or you are wasting your time and money. (c)2006 by Tood Ordal. You are welcome to share this informational article with others. Todd Ordal is a business consultant helping executives struggling with execution. Prior to founding the consulting firm Applied Strategy LLC, Todd spent over 25 years in management and executive roles such as President and CEO. You can contact Todd at todd@appliedstrategy.info