Ever had one of those days where you just feel like you are reeling through the planning only to discover that once the plan is in place it is not exactly what you had hoped it would be?
As a result you decide the plan was poorly constructed and decide to plan again, only to find that by the third attempt that you may never get the plan just right. I am of the belief that a poorly designed plan that is executed actually gets the team farther than a perfectly designed plan that is never executed.
At the most recent Agile Roundtable we referred to this phenomenon as Command & Chaos. All too often we try to force the square peg through the round hole or try to perfect the square peg just so it will fit. A better approach would be to initiate contact with the square peg team and build a peg that works. A peg that can still be sanded, stained, and polished to look and work just as well if not better than the peg you started with. I have learned through experiences with my family that most often the poorly planned days turn out to be the most enjoyable. This is not to say that some planning is not important as a day at the pool in mid-January may not be as enjoyable as on a warm summer day.
When all is said and done, we should plan just enough to be responsible and execute as often as possible. Command & Chaos does not work and is certainly not going to solve your problems. Just ask Joe CEO (pictured above), and he will tell you that the Agile plan is in place to let him know sooner whether things are going smoothly or may not turn out as planned. The last thing we want to do is catch this guy by surprise. Be responsible, be accountable, be agile.
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