In a fast-moving company, things change all the time. I thrive in that environment and it’s not common in the world of startups. But when everything is done at the last minute, it’s not agile or flexible or fast-moving. It’s just chaos.

For some this goes without saying. It may even seem painfully obvious. Nevertheless…

I’ve worked in places (and still do) where planning is an afterthought. Impactful decisions are made with little warning, deadlines seem to appear out of nowhere, and entire projects shift direction overnight. It leads to stress, confusion, and (ironically) painfully slow progress. When you’re constantly reacting instead of planning, you’re never in control.

We should always work on the most important thing at this moment.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We should always be working on the most important thing(s) at this moment. However, that ‘most important thing’ shouldn’t change on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis.

Furthermore, last-minute decisions have a ripple effect. Apart from impacting the people closest to the decisions, they throw teams and sometimes entire organizations into firefighting mode. And instead of thoughtful execution, it results in rushed work, missed details, and a long tail of unforeseen consequences that’ll eventually need attention.

“Why bother thinking long-term when everything will change tomorrow anyway?”

One clear symptom of an organization that thrives on last-minute decisions and poor planning is when you observe quarterly goals and objectives are only finalized midway through the very quarter they’re meant to target. It makes even the most well-intentioned plans seem set up for failure and people’s motivation takes a hit.

When people feel like they’re constantly scrambling, they stop taking ownership because: “Why bother thinking long-term when everything will change tomorrow anyway?”

“Plans are useless, Planning is indispensable”

I’m a strong advocate for the expression (clichè): “Plans are useless, Planning is indispensable”

Good planning isn’t about being rigid, it’s about creating space to think. When teams have time to prepare and plan, they make better decisions, do better (and more efficient) work, and feel more ownership.

Planning also allows for something that’s often overlooked: reflection. Reflection makes room for us to analyze past choices and mistakes, to refine future choices and actions. We gain clarity, challenge assumptions, and ensure that the next steps are intentional rather than reactive.

And once a plan has been created, you make sure to update it constantly.

Drawing up a good plan is like drawing up a map. Some parts of the map will have fewer details, other parts will simply be wrong. Once you get closer to those parts (or timelines), you adjust the map and fill in more details accordingly. And once a plan has been created, you make sure to update it constantly. Don’t leave it hanging as it will inevitably grow outdated and useless.