"In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." Dwight D. Eisenhower."
I have had the experience of helping various institutions develop mission/business plans over the years. There are nearly always groans and moans when the process begins. Eisenhower sums up well what I have always tried to explain. Plans often fail to pan out, but without having gone through a systematic effort to develop a plan and a shared frame of reference, the institution is often unable to take advantage of new opportunities or disregard things that don't work. I don't know that I would say that plans are useless because it is often being able to see what caused a diversion from the plan that helps you plan better in the future.
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