How to make a Plan

In this course, we will discuss how to make a plan from a management perspective. Planning is a double-edged sword. If done right, planning brings about tremendous increases in individual and organizational performance. If planning is done wrong, however, it can have just the opposite effect and harm individual and organizational performance.

The first step in planning is to set goals. To direct behavior and increase effort, goals need to be specific and challenging. One way of writing effective goals for yourself, your job, or your company is to use the S.M.A.R.T. guidelines. S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

The goal of options-based planning is to keep options open by making small, simultaneous investments in many alternative plans. Then, when one or a few of these plans emerge as likely winners, you invest even more in these plans while discontinuing or reducing investment in the others.