Throughout this book, I’ve been reinforcing as much as I could that it’s about planning, not the plan. In this chapter I want to gather all the pieces together and drive that point home.
This chapter is about planning as management.
Item |
Description |
| Plan vs. Actual Analysis | It’s not just accounting, or the technical term variance. It’s about the management that results from it. |
| Management and Accountability | It doesn’t happen automatically. Accountability is a matter of setting the right metrics and tracking performance. This should be part of the planning process. |
| Crystal Ball and Chain | Realize that some people fear metrics and planning as something that will be used against them in the future. Avoid this problem by making sure it’s collaborative. |
| Set Expectations and Follow Up | The secret of management is setting expectations and following up with reviews of performance. This is part of your planning process. |
Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software and Bplans.com. Follow him on Twitter @Timberry.
