Backwards Planning (#176)
Planning Isn’t Easy
During my time in the US Army’s Ranger School, I listened to Ranger Instructor after Ranger Instructor talk about the power of backwards planning.
“Think about the result of the operation you want, Ranger, and then create a plan that will get you there.”
During a cool crisp morning in the swamps of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. We were handed out the mission:
“You must conduct a raid on Objective Iron at 2330 hours on February 5th.”
Our platoon used backwards planning to help us be successful. We had to understand how long it would take us to do the raid (1 hour), how long it would take us to do a reconnaissance (1.5 hours), how long it would take us to move there (3 hours), what time sunset happened (1756 hours in coastal Florida), how long it would take us to prepare our equipment (1 hour), how long it would take us to give the Operations Order (1.5 hours), and how long it would take us to plan the operation (4 hours). Since it was 1030 hours, we had to get our wheels in motion now!
The platoon got to work and built a plan using the backwards planning technique. We thought through what we wanted to happen during the raid and worked backwards. We paddled our boats down the river and worked our way towards the target. Although everything didn’t go smoothly for us that night in the swamps (no Ranger School operation ever does!) we managed to initiate the raid right at 2330 hours. The platoon leader and platoon sergeant got “Gos” from the Ranger Instructors for their outstanding use of the backwards planning process.
Backwards planning is simply figuring out the end state of something by asking yourself what does success look like and working your way through the steps to get you back to where you currently are. Easy to say. Tough to do. The military’s backwards planning process has some use in the corporate environment. Here are five tips to put to use if you are going to try to do backwards planning with your team.
Five Tips to Use with Backwards Planning
Military Backwards Planning Process Tip #1 – Fully Envision and Describe in Detail What the Results of a Successful Plan Looks Like. Most plans start with today and work their way forward to an end state. Instead, envision what the organization looks like if it is successful. Describe it in detail. No detail is too insignificant. Understanding all the small details of a successful plan will lead to the overall success of the plan.
Military Backwards Planning Process Tip #2 – Make a List of all Available Assets that Support the Plan. Too often, planning can start with a brief plan and then everyone flies into a flurry of work, activities, and potentially disjointed and uncoordinated actions. Instead of jumping immediately into planning, stop and create a list of all available assets, people, resources, and materials that are available to support the plan. Assets to help with the plan can be specific people, departments, budgets, contractors, locations, material resources, and intellectual resources. In addition, what other “outside” resources do you have in friends or partners that could support your plan? Also, it may be helpful to brainstorm what is not available.
Military Backwards Planning Process Tip #3 – Create a List of the Building Blocks of the Plan. Once you understand the resources available (and not available) list all the steps that have to happen. Don’t worry about the order. Think about goals and sub-goals for every step.
Military Backwards Planning Process Tip #4 — Design the Plan. Once you understand the resources and the building blocks, take out your calendar and assign specific due dates for each major goal and sub-goal. It is much easier to create your calendar by working backwards – keeping the end in mind. First, identify the date by which your plan should be completed. Second, identify the last step you must do before the plan’s due date. Then, identify the next to the last step; the third to the last, and continue until you finish putting all the steps in reverse order. You will find that things need to be moved around to make the plan work as you finalize the plan.
For example, if my project is to provide supplies to help build a house, my completed project is that the house is move-in ready. The week before the house is ready to go on the market I should be part of the final house inspection and help clean up the construction site. This backward logic goes back to the first week of the project where I inspect the construction site, finalize the list of needed supplies, and deliver the initial supplies.
Military Backwards Planning Process #5 – Collaborate and Improve the Plan with your Team. If you haven’t done Tips 1-4 with your team, now is the time to bring them into the planning process. Show the team the draft plan and ask for the input. Here are several questions to get them started helping enhance the plan. Do we have benchmarks that help us measure success along the way? What are our key milestones? What milestones are missing? Do all the sub-goals support the end state? Do we need more sub-goals to help us get to our end state? Is the order that which we are executing the plan correct? If not, what should be changed? Use these questions and others to improve your plan.
Planning
In the meantime, go on the offense and use the backwards planning process to improve your planning at work and in life. Using the five backwards planning tips can ensure your plan, just like Major Robert Rogers told his Rangers in 1757, doesn’t “forget nothing.”