There’s nothing wrong with having a plan

There’s nothing wrong with having a plan But missions are better.

Missions survive when plans fail, and plans almost always fail. Seth Godin When first discussing plans with youth leaders they usually tell me the mission or goal they have in mind: “What do you have planned for the next Troop meeting?” “We’re going to prepare everyone for the backpacking trip.” “Sounds good; so what’s the plan?” “To talk about backpacking.” “Specifically what?” “Well; what to bring, how to pack things, and what to wear.” “How are you going to do that?” “Well, Carlyle is going to bring his pack all packed and show the guys what to bring.” “Excellent idea, how will the Scouts remember what he says?” “We should have a list that they can take with them.” “Is that list in the Scout Handbook?” And on and on until our discussion creates a plan from their mission.

After the first two or three times I do this with a Scout they usually fill in all the blanks on their own and the conversation is very brief. (Notice I haven’t told them anything, they connected the dots because I asked questions.) Inexperienced leaders tend to have missions rather than plans. We can mentor them through the planning process but the plan is always weaker than the mission.

Leadership is focus on the mission when plans fail and (as Seth notes) almost every plan fails.