Among the four basic principles of management, which includes planning, organising, leading and controlling, planning is the primary principle. Planning involves setting goals, mapping out strategies to achieve the goals, assigning responsibilities to who is to do what and projecting the likely results, other things being equal.
It sounds so easy to plan, only that those other things are rarely equal. Getting people to sit around the table to theorise solutions comes with energy, enthusiasm and optimism. The phrase “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” is very popular. Goal setting is not the issue, the main issue is what happens to the goal the morning after.
Many dreams die in incubation because of the fear of how to start. Planning is good but over planning drains the energy for execution. Some start but seek perfection as suggested by the projected outcome that they lose the zeal to pull it through when other things don’t prove to be equal as planned.
In the larger society, there are many more people stating the problem than those doing anything to solve the problem. Everything looks good on paper. Criticism looks like a vocation until critics find themselves at the centre of the ideas they profess before they come to terms with reality. What a better world it would be if we realise that what we lack is implementation, not planning.
What then is my message? Don’t ever underestimate the impact of your little efforts. Just do it.
©️ Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
21 September 2026
