We have a goal whenever we want to do something; and we do whatever is necessary to achieve that. We must always prepare ahead of time and take into account every possible circumstance, whether good or bad, that can happen when tying to achieve something. Sadly some become blinded by the mirth given by the goal that they become visionaries or plan vaguely that rather than becoming successful individuals they pay for their ignorance.
The Maginot Line was a set of fortifications built along the borders of Germany and Italy forwarded by then Minister of War André Maginot. Its purpose was to provide time for the French in any case of attack so that they can buy time to mobilize their armies. The fortification was influenced by such success during the First World War. The actual plan and reason for its construction was sound and impressed the higher-ups, thus its creation. Armed with Anti-tank cannons and many turrets it would seem to be invincible. The French thought they had all they needed to prevent any major casualties and heavily relied on this construction…
It would’ve… if that was the only way for the Germans to go…
The Germans went around it through Belgium and that was what practically left the fort standing pretty. One of the technical faults here was that the fort was made to only fire in one general direction, where it was facing. The weapons didn’t have any means to change direction. Although the more common sense fault was the fact that they didn’t cover all possible fronts. They were blinded by their “genius” of creating a masterpiece of a fort and by its purpose that they forget to take into account its flaws and other possible points for improvement.
We may always come up with a great plan, sometimes surprising even ourselves that we could’ve thought of such a thing. A lot of times, that’s where the planning ends, we forget that everything doesn’t fall neatly in place for us. We always have to prepare for any possible circumstance, planning in detail so that we understand what has to be done. Only then can we say that our plan will work.
Jame N. Say
Hi 18 K
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24 comments:
Is it actually REALLY possible to "plan all the way to the end" because any situation can have a virtually infinite number of permutations that would make planning for them all impractical. To what extent does the law apply? I'm not quite sure of it... In the example, not to seem smart alecky but just to prove a point, did the french prepare for a subterranean attack? :P
Diego Ibanez Hi-k
What the law says is not necessarily to ready yourself for any possibility, rather, to be clear about your means to achieve the end and have alternative plans in case the original one doesn't work... More often than not people just think up of vague objectives without necessarily giving thought as to the means of achieving those objectives...
As for the subterranean attack... back then it was impossible so there's no point in planning for such a thing... :|
One possible solution to Ibanez's comment above is to anticipate the possibilties and plan according to those possibilities. I don't believe that there are infinite possibilites for most situations: in fact, more often than not, situations call for 1 or 2 possibilties at most (either you fail or you win).
A good military strategist ancipiates all possibilites and creates back-up plans.
Chio Cebrero
Hi 18 L
@ Say
about the subterranean attack, i was ust demonstrating the absurdity of preparing too much i.e. preparing for the impossible :P. Of course i knew they didnt have the technology. ahahaha
You do have a point about people not having a specific plan. :P The problem isn't knowing what to do, but how to do it.
@ Chio
Of course there are an infinite possibilities :D. Think infintesimally! They could attack from point x, or a centimeter east of point x, etc... You were right though about the back-up plan thing. :P
Diego Ibanez
Hi18-K
In the example given, time for mobilization of the French army would be the goal of the Maginot Line. Seeing that the French were blinded by the so called "greatness" of their fortification, they weren't able comply with the basic instruction of the rule, which is to take into account the main objective that is to be achieved, and follow through with all the necessary actions. They believed that the fortifications were enough to meet their objective of buying time to mobilize their troops, but it was not so. What they could have done to properly anticipate the attack, was to put themselves in their enemies shoes. Doing so would allow them to make well thought of plans by thinking of ways to counter all possible attacks that could be initiated towards them. Doing so may have better prepared them for the attack, and actually adhere to the 29th law of power.
Paolo Banaga
Hi 18 L
I doubt Jose Rizal planned all the way to the end. Or perhaps he did lol. Anyway, there are just too many extraneous variables, too many loose ends, to map out life.
Denis Flores
Hi 18K
@ Dennis
That's exactly what i was trying to say, thanks for explaining it easier :P. Too many variables to plan everything but yeah, Say explained the flaw in that kind of thinking. Don't take "all the way to the end" as "prepare for every single possibility" but rather as "Don't make half baked ideas and go through with them"
Diego Juan Elpidio Canlas Ibanez
Hi18-K
Yes, I believe the real point here is not to plan for every possible thing; rather, to keep on changing the plan to suit what is happening in the present. Possibilities may indeed be almost infinite, but keeping an open mind to what is happening may very well save one the effort of thinking all possibilities in the start, as well as live to be the one standing as victor.
-Filbert Tan
HI18-K
I think that in any given situation it's hard to stick to a plan 100%. As I quote one of my favorite bands (The Academy Is) "we make plans to break plans." How many times have you come up with a plan such as a simple daily schedule and ended up going astray or not following it completely? Personally I feel that there are too many things that can go wrong or things that can lead you to not sticking to your plan as intended.
Our lives can't simply be directed with the help of a plan. Most of the things in the world are not definite, change is the only constant thing.
Teri Marcelo
Hi 18-K
Planning all the way to the end will make people be prepared of whatever circumstances. This would lessen the chances of having "panic modes". For me, planning all the way to the end, in many ways is important. We have to think of many possibilities, both good and bad, so that we can act accordingly even when unexpected / extra-ordinary events happen. It is best to think about a plan in many ways and spend a lot of time in imagining the actual occurrence of that event.
Yu Chin Hong
Hi18-K
ok, I get what diego's saying now; hahah clarification~
by planning every means possible I mean think how your 'enemy' would think. Reflect upon what they would do given what you've planned against them and realize potential weaknesses and counterattacks to your plan.
Jame Say
H18-K
planning in such a way that you can anticipate even your opponents' moves is indeed a great power. but i don't think it is what is stated in "plan all the way to the end"
i agree with diego about the possibility of "plan all the way to the end", one mistake can destroy your strategies.
miguel ignacio, L
I know this battle. This is a really stupid thing to think about since during world war 1, the Germans already went through Belgium to France. The French should have thought that they would try it again; which the Germans did. They went through the Ardennes forest into France. What the French were probably thinking is that it was difficult to get men and tanks through Belgium and into France.
Come to think of it, the Germans were brilliant in their strategy. They would attack a section of the Maginot line while the main army was going up through Belgium. From there, it was very easy to go down to Paris.
The Germans will be guilty of this flaw later by building the atlantic wall.
Sean Co
Hi 18 K
i see diego's point when he questions being able to plan ALL the way to the end because.. unexpected things are likely to come up. the enemy has tricks up their sleeve too. and.. sometimes, things just do come up when you don't expect them to. using this law though, it makes perfect sense to begin with the end in mind and have a backup plan in case things don't go the way you intend them to. you'll never be completely prepared, but at least you'll have done all you can to prepare and have ways to deal with the things that will probably happen.
kristina tan hi18 k
The bleedingly meticulous bride will have her perfect day. :P
If war strategies were based more on end games rather than just initial insertions into the fray and making it up as you go along, most of the world's loser armies would have changed the face and fate of the world.
Oh if only they were all brides planning their weddings...
Joey Palma
Hi18-K
Personally, I hate planning because things usually never turn out the way we want it to. Murphy's Law: If something can go wrong it WILL go wrong. That being said, the law sort of makes sense. You can't just charge into battle, you've got to lay out a strategy first. How many wars have been won because they closed their eyes and started waving their swords in random directions or blasting their guns randomly in the hope of taking someone's head off? I think the answer is zero. Though again, this law has a huge flaw, and that is, ironically, Murphy's LAW. Heh. Imagine that.
Sam Bautista
Hi18-K
I think this is a good law. It can be applied not just in gaining power but also in doing anything in general.
I liked the example of the Maginot line story as it shows you what happens if you are not to follow this law. They became too blinded by the thought of defending themselves against Germans with an impressive “invincible” fort that they didn’t actually plan on what to do after finishing their precious fort. They didn’t consider any more possibilities. They thought their fort will be enough.
Planning in detail is useful. Planners are common nowadays since people want to plan what they need to do. But like a problem with planners, sometimes entries there are not followed. So I think a good revision for this law is “plan all the way to the end, and follow it.”
I also agree that unpredicted events might come up, so i think the ALL THE WAY in the law really means what it says. Everything should be considered.
Chris Macalinao
Hi18 – L
It's true--always be prepared from all sides. It's not wise for you to focus your energy on just one thing, but at least be open to the possibility of changing plans. Another skill that supplements this law is reading in the right direction--what the French seemed to do was spend too much time building so that they didn't have time to pre-empt German tactics.
Peep Warren
Hi18-L
Think long term. The problem of most incoming leaders, and current leaders unfortunately, is the fact that they only think short term. They act now and think later. This leads to these individuals downfall. Sure they could be successful now, but what will happen to them when someone new comes along and phases him or her out? It is important to think long term in order to not only posses power but to maintain it.
Richard Hahn
L
I agree with Chio, a good strategist must have plan set and back-up ready. It is important to always think ahead because the possibilities are endless. When one writes up a plan the possibilities may be narrowed down and may help in achieving a goal more effectively. There's is no harm in setting up a strategy. There may be too many loose ends but at least somehow it clears up some uncertainties.
Czarina Kathryne Masagca
Hi18-L
Although planning ahead is a great idea, we can never have control over certain situations and factors such as weather, etc. I think that one must have back-up plans in order to fix whatever mishaps that might happen when the plan doesn't work out right.
PC Magnaye
Hi18-K
I think Denis said it best.
"there are just too many extraneous variables, too many loose ends, to map out life."
There are just too many things that could happen and there are some things you just can't plan for a certain time. It'll be like planning when you're going to win a lottery. You just can't. You can make a back-up plan but I doubt that would work out perfectly either. It'd take a lot of plans to cover every situation.
*comment above*
Leo Zacarias hi18-L
Having a Plan B or a backup plan is always a good idea. I think that when this law says plan all the way to the end, it didn't mean having just one plan. I believe that it meant that you must have a set concept and have another and another just incase the first fails. I think that any plan should also be well thought out and have a sort of script that branches it into all the possible situations that could happen. Kind of like the factor tree used in math :)
Regina A. Yulo
Hi 18 L
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