Welcome to PlanningSkills.COM

This website focuses on a wide variety of topics related to organization and individual planning situations. The primary focus is business planning.

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

The term social responsibility refers to situations where managers of an organization perform activities that protect and improve society beyond the extent required to serve the direct economic and technical interests of the organization. The term refers to a "company’s obligation to be sensitive to the needs of all of the stakeholders in its business operations. (Wikipedia)" According to Ethics in Action, "Socially responsible companies consider the full scope of their impact on communities and the environment when making decisions, balancing the needs of stakeholders with their need to make a profit."

Featured Planning Tip

If you have a strategic plan, seize the initiative in your tactical actions. Take control of a situation and make sure you can stay in control. You don't need to wait for others to act. Often it is advantageous to seize the initiative and act.

Staying on the offensive is recommended by the Army Field Manual of Military Operations.

Knowing when to act is as important as knowing what to do in many situations. We want to act when the time is "right", yet delay and procrastination may lead to a failure of inaction. When in doubt, seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. Act to implement the plan! Keep your competitor off balance and unable to act proactively.

Direct action is the most effective and decisive way to attain a clearly defined objective.