PlanningSkills.COM -- the web-based knowledge repository about planning and planning skills

Planning is an anticipatory decision making process that involves situation analysis, forecasting outcomes and events, evaluating alternative courses of action, anticipating consequences and considering implementation issues and contingencies. Planning often begins with asking one or more questions, for example: What if ...? Could we ...? Do we ...? Is it possible...? How should we respond ...? How can we ...? Is it feasible to ...?

In general, planning is a proactive process that is intended to help individuals, groups and organizations achieve performance objectives.

Featured Glossary Term

Pro Forma Income Statement

A pro forma income statement is a forecast or projection of income statement items for a company over its planning horizon. The forecast replicates the format of the company's income statement. The typical approach is to forecast sales and then derive the other income statement items from historical relationships. Amounts and percentages of income statement items like cost of goods sold are sometimes changed subjectively to reflect strategic changes that are planned for the firm.

Featured Planning Tip

Be prepared to improvise Planning is the starting activity for finding a path to accomplishing goals. To reach success it is often necessary to improvise actions around the initial plan.

Improvise means taking action without detailed preparation; adapting to circumstances; extemporizing; performing with little or no preparation.

Change happens and we cannot forecast in detail what will happen and so we often need to improvise. Having a general strategy and improvising around the theme or thrust of the plan is often the only way to implement a strategy in a turbulent environment. Sometimes unexpected events arise and sometimes mistakes occur. Managers must improvise in these situations. A good manager needs to be adaptable and both anticipate change and react appropriately when events weren't anticipated to pursue goals and plans.

Home | About Us | What's New

Copyright © 2004-15 by D. J. Power (see his home page). PlanningSkills.COM^sm is maintained by Alexander P. and Daniel J. Power. Please contact them at djpower1950@gmail.com with questions. See disclaimer and privacy statement. This page was last modified on December 8, 2015.

Web planningskills.com

Home \| About Us \| What's New
Copyright © 2004-15 by D. J. Power (see his home page). PlanningSkills.COM^sm is maintained by Alexander P. and Daniel J. Power. Please contact them at djpower1950@gmail.com with questions. See disclaimer and privacy statement. This page was last modified on December 8, 2015.