Mathias Mikkelsen
Published November 1, 2010

Planning Is Guessing

Unless you’re a fortune-teller, long-term business planning is a fantasy. There are just too many factors that are out of your hands: market conditions, competitors, customers, the economy, etc. Writing a plan makes you feel in control of things you can’t actually control.

Why don’t we just call plans what they really are: guesses. Start referring to your business plans as business guesses, your financial plans as financial guesses, and your strategic plans as strategic guesses. Now you can stop worrying about them as much. They just aren’t worth the stress.

So true. Excerpt from the excellent book Rework, by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson from 37signals, makers of Basecamp and Highrise among other applications. You should read it.