Why do we plan? It’s a simple question, with multiple answers, all of them correct. We plan because we need a roadmap for where we’re headed and what our preferred future state should look like. We

plan because we need goals—concrete outcomes that we want to achieve. And we plan because it

helps us to create focus around what is important.

All those reasons are valid and correct, but when it comes right down to it, the most important reason

we plan, is to change behavior. Without a plan we’re most likely to continue the behaviors we’re currently exhibiting and that won’t get us to a different outcome! Lack of behavior change is also why the benefit of most planning exercises is not realized. Organizations put 90% of their effort into creating the plans and 10% or less of their effort towards changing the behaviors that will be necessary to implement the plan. Remembering “why we plan” can change the way you organize your next planning session.

One thing’s for sure, no one could have planned for what 2020 brought to our doorsteps.

Early in the pandemic, many companies threw their business plans out the window and went into survival mode. But by the third quarter of 2020, many were resurrecting their prior plans and revising them to adjust to the changing realities.

Yearly planning retreats are a good practice, but it shouldn’t be about looking in a crystal ball and making a bet on the future. A better approach is to make plans with known data points and accept that change is constant. Effective planning requires a willingness to revisit and revise the plan on a consistent basis (quarterly or as least twice a year). And even when the plan changes, the primary focus should always be deciding how you will go about achieving your goals, which requires a monthly planning and review cadence to monitor and track results.