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Powerful Planning Skills

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Powerful Planning Skills

Envisioning the Future and Making it Happen

Career Press,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Text available

What's inside?

As Goethe once wrote: “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”


Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

All books that promise to teach you how to manage your time and your tasks more efficiently must be judged by one simple measure: Do they offer techniques that you actually can implement into your life? In the case of Powerful Planning Skills the answer is an unqualified yes. Although the slim book at first looks simplistic, don’t be deceived. Peter Capezio has written a nuts-and-bolts guide that essentially is a straightforward, interactive workbook. The text zeros in on strategic and personal planning styles, while also offering information to help you understand why your past efforts to become the world’s best planner might have gone astray. Like most books on time management, this one includes much that you’ve heard before, but if you’re looking to walk away with few new planning tricks, getAbstract recommends this book to you.

Summary

Affects Success

Planning skills are essentially survival skills, since your plans form the foundation of how you assess and execute your work. Planning skills hinge upon your ability to evaluate projects or problems logically. Since logic tells you to look at things broadly first, and then narrowly, you should approach planning the same way - look initially at the big picture, your overall goal, the broad ramifications, and the resources that you need. As you define this broad picture, you can naturally follow through with a narrower, more detailed analysis and choice-making process.

Planning helps you do more with less and face tough demands. Basic planning skills include:

  • Forecasting
  • Prioritizing
  • Systems analysis
  • Process analysis
  • Setting objectives
  • Strategy
  • Defining vision and goals
  • Critical path analysis
  • Simulation
  • Organization
  • Role and responsibility definition

Your planning skills don’t just affect your productivity, they greatly affect the productivity of other people you work with, since planning is the mechanism for establishing clear roles, responsibilities...

About the Author

Peter Capezio is also the author of Winning Teams: Making Your Team Productive and Successful, the upcoming Supreme Teams, Taking AIM on Leadership and Total Quality Management. He is co-author with Debra Morehouse of the upcoming Secrets of Breakthrough Leadership The team also wrote Taking the Mystery Out of TQM: A Practical Guide to Total Quality


Comment on this summary

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    S. M. 3 years ago
    Thought provoking
  • Avatar
    S. M. 3 years ago
    Good read
  • Avatar
    E. D. 4 years ago
    Planning sounds simple yet vital in any task or project. This article is truly helpful. Great learning!