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Planning for Everything

The Design of Paths and Goals

🤖 AI Summary

Summary of Planning for Everything
Written by Peter Morville, this book advocates for flexible, adaptable planning in an uncertain world. It combines principles from design thinking, agile methodology, and mindfulness to create a framework for effective decision-making and planning.

Book Recommendations

1. Best Alternate on the Same Topic: Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management by Scott Berkun – A practical guide to adaptive and effective planning in real-world projects.
2. Best Tangentially Related Book: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries – Explores iterative planning and adaptive decision-making in the context of business innovation.
3. Best Diametrically Opposed Book: The Art of War by Sun Tzu – Focuses on rigid strategic planning for dominance rather than adaptive approaches to uncertainty.
4. Best Fiction Book Incorporating Related Ideas: The Martian by Andy Weir – A story of survival where flexible, iterative problem-solving is key to overcoming unpredictable challenges.

Random Notes

Systems & Contexts

• invite people to help solve an impossible problem
• ”we learn too late when we fail to fit practice and play into planning”
• plan and search belong together

Chapters

1. Realizing the future

2. The planning process includes at least the following six functions
   1. forming a representation of the problem
   2. choosing a goal
   3. deciding to plan
   4. formulating a plan
   5. executing and monitoring the plan
   6. and learning from the plan

3. Tower of Hanoi
   1. Used to measure planning ability
4. STAR FINDER
   1. Principles
   1. Social
   2. Tangible
   3. Agile
   4. Reflective
      2. Practices
   5. Framing
   6. Imagining
   7. Narrowing
   8. Deciding
   9. Executing
   10. Reflecting
       3.
7. Narrowing
   1. Drivers & Levers
      1. Drivers eliminate options
         1. e.g. too costly
      2. Levers open new paths & fortify existing possible paths
         1. integral to systems thinking
   2. Estimates & Risks
      1. Estimates
         1. Often very wrong
         2. Optimism bias
            1.
9. Executing
   1.

Include people in planning
Pros & cons, good; emotions, maybe better

Work breakdown structure
Agility
Metrics & 2-way doors
Procrastination = holding options

Point of no return
Flipping a coin may help
Habits bind

Referenced books

• The Art of Fear