This article is written by David E. Elliott, Senior Service Designer at Transport Canada.

  • The problem: Planning is skipped or addressed superficially and everyone jumps into project management mode and starts on the “work”.
  • Why it matters: Without a clear understanding of a problem and a desired future state, much of the “work” can be misdirected, addressing problems that don’t exist, addressing low-priority problems or symptoms and/or the “solutions” may be poorly informed and as a result, suboptimal.
  • The solution: One solution is to be aware of the elements (as described below) that push us to rush into the project management and “work” mode before investing meaningfully in the planning process and understanding where we currently are and where we would like to be heading.

For many of you, good planning just seems like common sense. I can’t argue with this. However, common sense, as we all know, doesn’t seem to be all that common at times. We should plan carefully from a well-informed and intentional perspective. But, too often, this doesn’t happen. There is a gap between what should be done and what we actually do. Sometimes this can be ignorance. More often than not, I think other factors are at play.

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Before we dive into the factors that I think throw things off course, let’s establish some context and terms:

Phase one: Planning – Answer why the work is being done. How will the world be better? For me, I like to use a structure that involves articulating the problem (the current state), the ideal future state (what having the problem solved looks like), understanding this gap and the cause of the gap and finally, a proposed intervention that will close the gap, moving the situation from the current state to the desired future state.

Phase two: Project management – Who is doing what, when and ensuring things are on track with the development and implementation of the proposed intervention. This can only really be done after the planning is completed.

Five common obstacles that tend to prevent a meaningful planning phase from being undertaken and prematurely initiate the project management phase:

  1. Discomfort with ambiguity
  2. Complacency around understanding the problem
  3. Overconfidence in a proposed solution
  4. Pressure to produce “outputs”
  5. Misguided prioritisation of outputs over outcomes

1. Discomfort with ambiguity

In North American work culture, it is still considered a sin in many workplaces to utter the phrase “I don’t know”. This is frowned upon and uncomfortable to state for most. Knowing answers is prized, and not having answers is seen as weak.

In addition, we simply prefer to feel as if we have our feet on the ground. Ambiguous situations are disorienting and uncomfortable. Some of us have a disposition to tolerate this better than others. There is a natural drive to find stability. The trick is to find stability in reality, over creating a fiction that simply provides the illusion of stability.

“But the greater risk is to choose false certainty over genuine ambiguity.”

– Dan Pink

2. Complacency around understanding the problem

The discomfort with ambiguity mentioned above often prompts people to take little to no facts and construct a narrative that explains the situation. Transforming instability into stability. Moving from not knowing to knowing. Once comfort is achieved there is little motivation to dig deeper to question the assumptions made.

3. Overconfidence in a proposed solution

The next step in the story is to solve the problem that we feel certain that we understand. An idea comes to mind. Wonderful! This transfers the moment from unknowing to knowing again. Reputation saved. Stability is once again achieved.

There is also a logic trap often present. The proposed solution has merit, in the context of an assumed problem.

Sound logic conceals flawed reasoning X fixes Y. Coolant fixes an overheated engine. A very sound premise if the engine is overheated due to an absence of coolant. If there is an absence of oil, adding coolant won’t be helpful. If the engine is being run too hard, beyond its operating limits, coolant won’t be helpful.

The sound logic of adding coolant to a hot engine fails to scream “error” because, in one particular context, it is the correct answer.

Lots of great, sound, logical ideas are developed to address problems (or possibly just symptoms) that are not present or of very low importance.

4. Pressure to produce “outputs”

There is a natural tendency at an organisational and at an individual level to favour the production of tangible “outputs” – work that can be seen and touched. We can show this to superiors, and our work day feels worthwhile. Superiors are pleased because things are obviously moving forward and therefore getting closer to the end. This perception may not actually reflect reality.

Back to 1 - Discomfort with ambiguity, reporting that you are still investigating the problem or researching a potential intervention is often not acceptable and/or uncomfortable. Everyone involved would prefer to see some tangible outputs.

“Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing’.”

– Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves

5. Misguided prioritisation of outputs over outcomes

In the cloud of dust and smoke caused by all of the busy work-making outputs, between the hustle and bustle of team members and weeks or months passing, it can be easy to lose sight of the original intentions of the work. Particularly when the original intentions were never articulated or ineffectively articulated.

At this point, it becomes incredibly easy to start a counting game. Number of words or pages written. Modules delivered. Units produced. Work completed. With this, success is claimed. The work is done.

But is it?

Closing the gap

In general, I look at most work situations as problems to be solved. For me, this means there is a current state, a desired future state and a gap between the two that needs to be closed. Planning is about understanding these elements, the cause of the current state and constructing an intervention, a path, to move from the current state to the desired future state.

Armed with an awareness of these traps, natural tendencies and social pressures, you can make an effort to resist them.

Outputs are a means to an end, a way to achieve outcomes. Outputs and outcomes are not one and the same. Even under ideal conditions with a robust planning process, perfect outputs don’t always deliver intended outcomes. Perfectly planned outputs aren’t always perfectly implemented. Plus, errors are made along the way. Perhaps a situation or system is not fully understood, making it very difficult to influence correctly to produce the desired results.

The work is complete when the outcomes are achieved. When the evidence indicates that the course of action chosen is delivering the desired outcomes, then our work is done.

Writing a policy is not fixing a problem.

Offering a programme is not fixing a problem.

Providing learning is radically different from seeing behaviour change and a problem resolved.

The policy or programme or learning needs to be created and delivered. Only after it has been at play in the real world can we then evaluate if these interventions have solved the problems they were trying to address. Evaluation asks, has the desired future state been achieved? Far too often, some form of assessment is completed, it is called “evaluation”, and it is content with asking if the widgets have been created and sent, not exploring if they have solved a problem or added value.

  1. Discomfort with ambiguity
  2. Complacency around understanding the problem
  3. Overconfidence in a proposed solution
  4. Pressure to produce “outputs”
  5. Misguided prioritisation of outputs over outcomes

Armed with an awareness of these traps, natural tendencies and social pressures, you can make an effort to resist them. Move forward, intentionally, from an informed position. It will take longer before you can generate “work” that resembles an expected finished product, but what you produce should address the actual need, effectively and efficiently, producing the desired future state, the true intention of all the effort.

Done reading? Make sure to share your own tips by leaving a comment below ⬇️

(Image credit: Unsplash)