Accomplish without a plan - Tao of the day

My favorite part of my job is planning. (She said with wicked sarcasm)

Truth. I am good at *parts* of planning. I love the brainstorming. And I often wish, when things pan out, I was chewing on a cigar so I could say "I love it when a plan comes together."

I am NOT good at the planning parts of planning. Meaning the charts and graphs that show project phases, status updates, and time lines. Just tell me what the due date is, and I will deliver (approximately). To me, a big project is an iterative process that evolves constantly, so once it's on paper, it's old. New ideas enter, or the strategy changes, or it turns into something completely different. Do you want to spend your time updating your plan, or executing on the project so you can get to that cigar?

This works alright when you're employed by a small company of agile individuals willing to trust without knowing the exact details of how, or when they will receive something worth chewing a cigar over. (Well, somewhat willing to trust. I can think of a few that didn't much like my modus operandi. You put up with it though. Thanks.)

Well, darn it. Wouldn't you know that now I am on the receiving end of what it was like to work with me? I can't even do the fun stuff of planning, the researching and brainstorming. I'm in the dark. I wish someone would invent a jump drive that I could plug into a cranium portal, either your ear hole or nostril, you pick (ha ha) and download *the vision.*

"Touche!" my mother would say, "the universe is teaching you a lesson."

Well, the plan is due tomorrow. I'm frustrated with the old me, and thinking, what would I have done if I used to work with the old me? At frustrating times like this, I pull out the pocket Tao te Ching and read the first verse I see when I open it. Check it out:

73
The Tao is always at ease.
It overcomes without competing,
answers without speaking a word,
arrives without being summoned,
accomplishes without a plan.

Its net covers the whole universe.
And though its meshes are wide,
it doesn't let a thing slip through.

Whoa! There's the plan! Now all I need to do is slap this thing onto a PowerPoint presentation with some bullets and I'm good to go with my plan for 2010!

2010 Communications Plan
- Win market awareness by focusing our communications on why we help customers vs. just proving how we are different from our competitors
- Use innovative communication methods to convey how we answer to customer needs
- Let our desire to answer customer needs summon our path, don't let industry noise carve our activities
- Communicate our message to the whole universe - cast a wide net
- If everyone knows about us, nothing can slip by us

Phew, i feel so at ease now!