"The Problem Is..."

My wife (“M”) and I are the proud parents of a 17 year old young man (“S”).  He is at the age of peak wisdom.  He can immediately identify “The Problem” when things aren’t going according to his plan.

The Background:  “S” is homeschooled and is assigned his work for the week.  He is expected to be an independent worker and understands the concept of natural consequences (remember: he is at the age of peak wisdom).  If he doesn't get his work done, the work rolls over to the next week.  If this continues long enough, he won't graduate on time.  And so on...

The Dialog:

S -  “Good Morning.”

M - “It is not morning when the time is 11:50 am.  I thought you were starting your school work earlier today.  What happened?”

S- “Well, you see, from my view….”

M- “Why are you still in your pajamas?”

S- “I knew it was late so I thought…”

M- “What time did you go to bed last night?”

S- “11:00 pm, no wait 3:00 am but that is not the problem.  The problem is….”

I would submit to you that identification of “The Problem” is the first, and most important, imperative in proper planning.  In the exaggerated (this never happens) example above, our wise-beyond-his years 17 year old was on a path to identify the wrong problem.  His plan, if he got that far, would have missed the mark.  Clearly, “The Problem” for him is loving parents who hold him accountable.

In all fairness to my son, accurate problem identification is a significant issue for most people and groups.  It is nearly always listed as the first step in any problem solving model, yet it is the most frequently neglected step.  I see it every day in my professional life.  A good plan must start with properly identifying “The Problem”.

“If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”  Albert Einstein

Proverbs 14:8  “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.”

- What is your plan? -

"First Blog, Ever"

Let’s jump right in.  The first thing you need to understand is that planning is overrated.  Planning is for the weak, the unimaginative and those who are overly risk averse.  Understand?  What?

Do you always need a plan?  I should be able to just start working.  If I put out more energy, then I get good results.  

Not having a plan allows me to never be behind or ahead.  I will never be over budget (what is a budget anyway).  I will always achieve the expected outcome.

The expectations of others… don’t matter because I don’t have a plan for them to develop expectations.

The absence of proper planning can be seen in all areas of life: Physical, Spiritual, Financial, Family, Social, Intellectual, and Career.  I’ve convinced myself that I can fill this blog space indefinitely with examples from my own life.  

Luke 14:28-30  “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.  Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see it he has enough money to complete it?  For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ ”

Maybe we can learn something together.

Disclaimers:

1.  I am a Christ follower and I see life from a Christian world view.  

2.  I am a husband and a father of two teenage boys.  They read this blog.

3.  My wife proofreads all my posts.

4.  I will take liberty with the subject matter covered in this blog.

Thanks for joining.

-What is your plan?-

P.S.  What’s with the Blog name?  “Six Bottles to Paris” is a reminder of a very successful plan.  Two other couples joined my wife and I on a train trip to Paris.  There were 6 adults and 6 bottles of wine - a perfect plan!