I’ve been in resource planning for more years than I care to remember, over 30 years in its various shapes and forms. I’ve nearly always loved it – and when I didn’t love it, I probably learnt more than I did at any other stage in my career. But that’s a story for another day. So, why do I love it?
On the face of it, it’s something that is easy not to love. It’s not easy (few roles are), you need a thick skin, it’s easily criticised, lots of numbers, sometimes seen as unpopular, sometimes described as admin (I really hate that) and it’s not perceived as a “sexy” role in our industry. There is potentially lots not to like.
I see the reality entirely differently. For me, planning can be, should be, and sometime is, the beating heart of any business. It is the ultimate enabler, at the heart of so many crucial decisions any organisation needs to make. The breadth of stakeholders, and therefore its influence is unparalleled. Ultimately, its potential to make a difference to people, to customers, to businesses is extreme.
To achieve all that, of course, it needs to be carried out excellently. There are some more technical elements that act as hygiene factors (get your numbers right) but in this arena, “excellently” goes far, far beyond those technical aspects.
The ability to create genuine insight, to tell stories, to provoke conversation and debate, to offer challenge, to demonstrate feasibility and to drive change – these are the things I really love about it. That’s because these are the things that will make a positive difference to people’s lives, will improve the experience of customers, and can help underpin the commercials and reputation of the business. As a planner, if I can’t do these things, my physical plans and outputs are meaningless.
Does everyone see it like this – sadly not? We still see too many organisations who pigeon-hole their Planning Teams into a technical, numbers function. They want a regular output but don’t want to be challenged to think differently, they perhaps fear the insight it can bring, or they simply don’t want to relinquish the control they believe they have.
At Select Planning, we have always prided ourselves on working with our customer to deliver those things that make a difference. Sometimes it would be easier to just focus on the technical stuff – but that is NOT what will deliver value, nor will it enable sustainable solutions. Helping to educate people in the value of planning is a key part of anything we do – however subtly or overtly we need to do it.
30 years on, and our industries have seen phenomenal change, as have our approaches to planning. But the fundamentals of what makes great planning have not – because that ability to influence and make a difference is always relevant regardless of the nature of your business and the changes going on within it.
Give us a shout if you’d like help making your Planning Team the beating heart of your organisation.
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