29 Planning Quotes From a Professional Military Planner to Motivate Your Team
Every good planning effort should start with a good quote to get everyone motivated and highlight an important aspect of planning.
Quotes on planning are widely circulated during military planning efforts to express the importance of concepts, provide insight, and even a little humor in the execution of professional planning and ultimately yield successful planning efforts. Here is a comprehensive list of some of my favorite quotes on planning from prominent military strategists as well as others to help inspire and entertain your next planning effort.
The military Planner’s Favorite Planning Quotes
As a professional military planner, I’ve often been involved in planning efforts were various planning quotes are exchanged. This is more ofthen than not to inject a little light harted humor into an otherwise serious effort. At the same time these planning quotes often hold valuable lessons for planners to remember as they step through their process.
Planning Quotes Often Emphasize The importance of Planning as a process.
The power of planning is in the process not the product. Many planning quotes emphasize the importance of planning (the verb) over the plan (the noun).
1. “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
This is one of my favorite quotes about planning and why I have it listed as number one. Here, Eisenhower captures the key element of planning: the value lies in the act of planning, not in the plan itself, which can quickly become obsolete. The continuous process of adapting to changing circumstances is where you find success. This is a great quote to start out any planning effort as a reminder that it’s about the process not the plan at the end.
2. “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin
Franklin simply states this fundamental principle for both life and military strategy and is likely the inspiration for many similar quotes. Many great quotes about preparing are listed here as preparation and planning are synonymous.
3. “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.” – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
This quote is a staple in military planning, though not his actual quote. It is unclear who first stated this now-famous version. While often attributed to Motke, his actual quote is…
4. “No plan of operations reaches with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy’s main force.” – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder.
Yeah just doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. We’ll stick with the first one!
5. “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Mike Tyson.
Even Mike Tyson understood the lessons of Motke the Elder! He may not have known it, but Mike Tyson had a great sense that simply having a plan was no guarantee for success.
6. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.” – Winston S. Churchill
One of the many planning quotes likely inspired by Ben Franklin. Churchill’s words echo the indispensable nature of planning in any successful endeavor. One of the many iterations of that was provided by Ben Franklin.
7. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln expresses the importance of planning concerning the action that must follow. Focusing on the preparation to achieve the best result.
8. “Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” – Alan Lakein
Lakein highlights the power of planning for the future. He emphasizes one of the most important aspects of any good planning process. Plan with the end in mind.
Planning Quotes Can demonstrate the importance of Research and Design in your planning Process.
9. “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” – Sun Tzu
The Art of War is often referenced and recommended in business circles. Sun Tzu expresses the importance of understanding your environment to any good planning process. Knowledge and understanding, are essential elements of planning.
10. “You can’t hit what you can’t see, and you can’t see what you don’t know.” – John Boyd
Boyd’s quote also underscores the importance of being familiar with your operating environment. Every good planning process includes research. Without this research, you can’t be sure that what you are doing is going to work.
11. “The best plan is only good intentions unless it degenerates into work.” – Peter Drucker
Drucker emphasizes the necessity of action in turning plans into reality. Once you have most of your plan complete, the critical step of implementation or putting it into action is still necessary for your plan to become a reality. Imagine if they just planned the invasion of Normandy but never ordered it.
12. “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” – General George S. Patton
Patton’s quote encapsulates the importance of decisive action and the risks of over-planning. Sometimes we call this the 80% solution and another reason that implementation is a critical step of planning. The sooner you can get to taking action the better.
13. “Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.” – Winston Churchill
Churchill reiterates the significance of the planning process over the rigidity of the plan itself. Churchill is credited for this similar quote to Eisenhower. It is not surprising that they both have similar quotes as they met on numerous occasions and communicated extensively about planning in WW2 and events leading up to the Cold War. Churchill had great respect for Eisenhower.
14. “Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” – Thomas Edison
Edison’s quote expresses the essential role that planning has in achieving success when presented with opportunity.
15. “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” – Bobby Unser
American Racing legend Bobby Unser demonstrates just how common this type of thinking is related to successful people. Or maybe he was just a fan of Thomas Edison!
16. “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations if you live near one.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
Who knew that J. R. R Tolkien was an expert planner? Here, he highlights the importance of thorough risk management considerations in planning. This is also a great example of the research or design phase. Tolkien knew that you needed to thoroughly consider your environment and all factors before proceeding with your plan.
17. “Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” – Richard Cushing
Similar to planning with the end in mind, Cushing highlights the wisdom of preparing for the future, even when the need isn’t immediate. This concept also demonstrates the importance of risk management in planning. This quote is more about the roll of risk management in planning than it is about planning ahead.
18. “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” – Leonard Bernstein
Bernstein suggests that a little urgency can be a key component of successful planning but provides the necessity to take action and avoid perpetual planning cycles. Sharing similar wisdom to General Patton, Bernstein understands the importance of getting to the action phase when good is good enough.
19. “A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.” – Brian Tracy
This is one of the greatest benefits of preparation. When you have prepared appropriately, it can be extraordinarily calming in the face of an otherwise stressful or chaotic situation. Brian Tracy’s statement nails the idea that the simple act of planning can alleviate fear and apprehension when the need for action arises.
20. “Planning is a process of choosing among those many options. If we do not choose to plan, then we choose to have others plan for us.” – Richard I. Winwood
Several great planning quotes emphasize the importance of planning our future and that if we don’t, we only have ourselves to blame where we end up. Planning can also help us improve our decision making an further give confidence to the direction we are headed.
21. “Failing to plan is planning to stay stuck in the current situation.” – Debasish Mridha
Mridha’s quote is similar to Winwood’s above in that it expresses a similar consequence of a lack of planning. Without the guiding activity of planning, you are sure to remain where you are.
22. “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” – Allen Saunders
This quote shifts gears a little bit. It’s less about the importance of planning and more about taking a step back and make sure you’re living in the now. Saunders’ quote does highlight the unpredictability of life despite our best plans. It also serves as a good example for making sure you step away from the planning and get to action, and also make sure you’re taking time to observe your progress and outcomes.
23. “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” – Yogi Berra
If you never make a plan, you can’t be mad about where you are. While humorous, Berra perfectly articulates the importance of planning in getting to where you want to be. You are in control. Unless you relinquish that control to someone else.
24. “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” – Alexander Graham Bell
Bell underscores the fundamental role of preparation, a key component of planning, in achieving success.
25. “Make time for planning; Wars are won in the general’s tent.” – Stephen R. Covey
Covey’s quote, while using a military metaphor, applies the concept of strategic planning to all areas of achievement.
26. “A goal without a plan is just a dream.” – Dave Ramsey
Ramsey succinctly differentiates between mere aspirations and achievable goals through planning. Goal setting is simply just a step within a broader planning process. Just setting goals alone will not get you there.
27. “Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” – Proverb
This witty proverb highlights personal responsibility in planning and a reminder that we can’t blame others for our failure to properly plan.
But, how do I plan properly?
28. “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” – John F. Kennedy
Echoing similar concepts of planning before the emergency occurs. Kennedy reminds us the time to plan is now, not when things are going wrong.
29. “Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.” – Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu appears again to remind us that his knowledge reaches much farther than military strategy, and applies broadly to the approach of tackling challenges in planning.
Conclusion
This series of planning quotes is sure to invigorate and inspire your next planning effort. Emphasizing the importance of planning as a process and concepts like planning with the end in mind so that you can set the right mindset for planning. So bring them to your next planning effort or drop them in your back pocket next time you or your planning team need a little jump start to kick your next planning effort off right.
