Well planned

Work Study

ISSN: 0043-8022

Article publication date: 1 December 2001

480

Citation

(2001), "Well planned", Work Study, Vol. 50 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2001.07950gaa.006

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2001, MCB UP Limited


Well planned

Well planned

While on the subject of planning (well, that's what project management implies) it's worth raising another concern. This is about "over-planning". I'm not a "seat of their pants" manager; I do believe in planning, but often, in a constantly and rapidly changing world, it is a mistake to make plans too detailed and too rigid. An ability to respond to environmental change requires a form of "loose" planning that incorporates a degree of flexibility. This requires a particular culture – of respect and trust for people's ability and judgement, accepting that they can both "fill in the gaps" as and when necessary or make appropriate adjustments when required. If you haven't got such a culture, change it!

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