- Dwight D Eisenhover

One of my friends used to tell me that I know exactly how my life will be twenty years from now, that I have it all planned out. And I used to say that, at any given point in time, I know how my life will be for the next twenty years, but also that what I know about the next twenty years is not always the same.

When you have a lot of variables to consider, which is the case in this fast paced era where the consumers have the attention span of a fly, you can almost never predict how the cards will be stacked even a few weeks into the future. 

I'm not even going to debate the need for planning despite things never going as per plan, and agree with Eisenhover when he says that planning is everything. But, the dilemma most people face is when things do start to go against plan, do you still continue to act according to plan hoping that that will bring back order to what you're doing? Or do you take a step back, re-assess the situation and make a new plan with everything that you now know?

It isn't an easy answer as plans are rarely held close to your chest. You invariably end up communicating them to your employees, your consumers, your friends. Then, it is a case of managing your credibility. If you step back and re-assess the situation and make a new plan every time things go off track, you are seen as incapable of seeing something through and getting it done. Whereas, if you stick to acting per plan despite the changes, you are seen as being too stubborn to accommodate new information and change your ways.

It's a delicate balance between the two and is one that successful companies tend to do fairly well. It is all the more important to get this right in the early stages of your company or your product as that is the time you are building your credibility in the eyes of the investors and the customers.