Last week, I posted three thoughts about why it is important to plan, with a specific focus on youth ministry. Today I wanted to look at some of the downsides of planning, or perhaps, planning done poorly.
- Plans tend to slow things down- initially. One of the perceived downsides of planning things out in detail is that it often causes the process of execution to slow down. This can be particularly discouraging when you’re excited about something. Say you want to launch a new program. The first step I want to take is not to write down an action plan as much as it is to do, do, do. But the benefit is that planning will prevent pain in the long run.
- Planning can lead to focusing on minutiae. If you’ve ever sat down to brainstorm a task list, you’ve probably found that you can begin to create a large volume of tasks. You start saying things like, “get envelope from office supplies,” and “write thank you note,” and “sign thank you note,” etc. when you really should just say “send Grandma a thanks for the cookies.”
- Plans are no use when you don’t execute. I love making lists. There’s something cathartic about having all your thoughts out on a piece of paper. But a well-articulated plan is as good as trash if you don’t execute.