Not often do we consider the importance of planning in business or everyday life. Most people rely on instinct & react to events in the heat of the moment…

This reactionary approach can lead to poor outcomes & prevent us from fulfilling our full potential in the activity being undertaken.

In business you need many plans to succeed, things like:

• Sales strategy
• Marketing plan
• Staffing plan
• Social media plan
• Customer retention plan
• Product development plan

Planning any activity is vital. Planning allows you to detail the steps needed for completion, to identify the resources you need & to quantify the budget required.

A detailed & well thought out plan will provide the best opportunity for success. But only if you carry it out correctly.

We’re forever planning. In our business we have numerous printing solutions, developed for different markets & all help customers save money & gain certainty of their costs.

But each market & solution is different & they need their own plans. Small organisations have different printing technology needs than a home worker or a larger organisation.

For us planning is critical. Planning allows us to scale our resources as we grow & makes sure our customer service is maintained to a high standard for every type of customer.

A lack of planning can have dire consequences…

Recently I came across the sinking of the Bismarck story from World War 2.

For those not familiar. The dreaded Bismarck was the first of Adolf Hitler’s new battleships. The ship was faster & stronger than any of its predecessors and competition.

Weighing 50,000 tonnes & nearly the size of the Eiffel tower it was the biggest & fastest ship by some distance & also blustered an impressive 64 guns.

It cannot be overstressed this was a feat of naval engineering & a seemingly unstoppable force during World War 2.

But what was the immovable object that halted the fearsome reign of the Bismarck?

You guessed it, planning. Or in this case. A lack of not sticking to the plan.

Although the Bismarck was the mightiest vessel it was sunk on May 27th, 1941. Amazingly Admiral Lutjens didn’t refuel when planned. Which is probably the main reason it was sunk.

Agreed Admiral Lutjens wasn’t to know the Bismarck would be badly damaged, taking on water & leaking oil. Causing it to slow down to conserve fuel so they could reach France.

But if Lutjens had refuelled when planned, top speed could have been maintained & no-one would have caught them. Allowing them to reach France for repairs & fight on in the war.

But his catastrophic error allowed the Allied naval forces to catch up & sink the mighty ship, ending its oppressive regime as the most fearsome naval power in World War 2.

The fall of the Bismarck (although extreme) is a great example of the importance of making sure your plans are carried out correctly.

This is especially important in the unforgiving business world where any failure to fuel your battleship can lead to its ultimate demise.