Planners vs. Doers

Often, everything from project plans to business development plans to career plans don't always work as intended.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

To understand why, it is important to understand the psychological concepts of ego depletion and decision fatigue.

Quote: We are superior planners but become inferior doers as our environment exerts its influence through the course of our day. Marshall Goldsmith.

Many of us would simply prefer to “Get to Work” and start doing things, but we intellectually know that it’s important to create a plan so we can prioritize then execute most effectively. 

Most things that come in “Off-Plan” are due to failures in disciplined execution rather than bad plans or lack of capabilities. 

  • Focus heavily on the routine processes that will help you achieve your plan.  
  • Create regular habits and routines that keep you and your team on-track. 
  • Build motivation through disciplined execution.

Marshall Goldsmith does a great job discussing these in his book Triggers, including 6 Daily Questions we should all ask ourselves.




Production Tracking - Changing the Language
Your productivity will start to really improve as it becomes a culture and not just a tracking system. You will first notice this as a change in language in the field and across the whole project team.
Vision + Execution
The first limitation most people and companies put on themselves is the size of their vision. While vision alone will not guarantee your achievement, a limited vision will nearly always guarantee limited achievement.
Can't Learn to Swim Without Getting Wet
Most everything we learn to do in the field for construction comes down to hands-on practice. When we move people into supervision and management roles we often forget the need to truly practice hands-on to get great at doing something.