Bill Walsh - Planning the First 25 Plays

Construction success depends on both the ability to rigorously plan as well as the ability to quickly react to changing field conditions.

D. Brown Management

July 1, 2018 2 minute read

This is similar to sports and a lot can be learned from the disciplines of great coaches. What keeps most project teams from planning in more detail?

If we know that conditions are going to change once we start then why waste all this time planning?

Bill Walsh describes this as the ability to see patterns once the game begins that allow you to make quick changes.
Dwight (Ike) D. Eisenhower described it perfectly “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.” The process of planning; if done correctly by the right facilitator will prepare the team for variables when they start.
Every great coach, military and business leader focuses their teams on a relentless practice of the basics so that those are committed to habit. This also lets them react extremely quickly to changes in condition.
When a team has a shared mental model of the project and the plan in their minds then they will always be reacting in a way that moves the whole team closer to the original plan.

All teams can benefit from having an experienced and unbiased 3rd party training them on good planning practices.