Sweetspot of planning versus doing

A detailed plan, sheets of paper (or endless digital canvas) laid in front of you. How much it is outdated? Can you even guess?

First casulties are the plans. Yet we would be nowhere as a species without plans.

Envisioning then formulating a plan is a key piece for being human.

Being an effective one at that start with balancing it with action. Action without a concept or a plan may be a fool’s errand. Plans without action are just daydreams.

Even more complicated with teams and superiors. Managers, executives, leaders, customers, members, juniors, all expect something, while all do something.

One step by any of them you did not anticipate, and your plan is in shambles.

Now you might think the plan was worthless, and you may be right. Still you need to go ahead, do your part, what is next? As you come up with the next thing to do, where do you reach?

Deep into your experience, your preparation and pull out the next improvisation. Knowing the goal, the strategy or the objectives, combining with your previous plans, you may react instantly. Others envying your improvisation skills.

When you know, it was just a choice of existing alternatives. It is not that obvious for others.

Personally I was always fascinated by rappers. How fast they come up with the rhymes in a face off against each other. It seems impossible.

Until you break it down to its parts. They mostly don’t come up with all those stuff at the moment. Practicing years, learning, memorizing, planning ahead, I do this if that happens, do that if that happens. None of the expected may happen, but the fascinating human mind just creates a new response then.

As an engineer, my plans are not as short as a rhyme or two. Yet they can go awry in just a short time. What do I do?

Keep planning, keep putting the fixed points down, yet form, shape the outcome fluidly. How fluidly?

I prefer to make a few bullet points for each functionality or feature I am about to implement. Cover from the beginning (where the user enters the flow), what main steps and kinda what it needs for implementation, until the end (what outcome was expected by the user).

This amount keeps everyone on same page, leaders know what and when to expect, can even pinpoint missed important details while not bogged down of technical ones. Younger tech team members can take over and fill in the gaps while learning how to connect tactical details with outcome.

How do you plan?