Best Possible Outcome

CHAPTER 12STRESS TEST YOUR PLAN

Test and analyse your plan, because sometimes what you wargame and rehearse is exactly what will occur. This was the case on numerous occasions in Baghdad, revealing the value of thorough analysis of any plan prior to execution.

Analysing and stress testing your plan at the boardroom table will result in holes being fixed, and contingency plans being developed to ensure the best outcome.

By the end of this chapter you will understand how deliberate processes enhance planning, and I will challenge your thinking on the utility of deliberate planning when defining and understanding your competitive business environment.

For three months before we deployed to Baghdad the team came together in Brisbane from across the country.

At the top we had a very experienced, intelligent and compassionate commander, a major, who developed methods of planning all the tactical tasks necessary for supporting the diplomats.

Many risk mitigation strategies had been implemented since I was injured 18 months earlier. We now used a deliberate and methodical planning process for all activities involving the Embassy staff, and all activities outside the secured, fortified section of the city in which we would be operating.

I had only ever used military planning processes in training, and they often felt cumbersome and counterintuitive. The result was frequently confusing and disconnected from the problem at hand. However, our combat team commander refined processes so ...