Connected Planning, 2nd Edition

FOREWORD

I've spent the last 30 years researching and writing within the organizational domain. During this time, I have educated nearly 70,0000 aspiring businessmen and women in the fundamentals and theories of management and leadership and how to put such knowledge into real-world practice. One concept that has been the focal point of my research and teaching involves the topic of self-leadership. Self-leadership is an empowerment process of leading yourself to overcome obstacles to your goals. In the same way that one needs to be self-leading to finish a grueling marathon, an organization must be self-leading in order to execute its plans in an efficient and effective manner. What drives self-leadership at all levels in an organization? The people within the organization of course—and those people must be involved in the planning occurring in an organization. Without a plan, an organization has no direction. Without a plan that involves employees at all levels of the company and thus encouraging self-leadership, an organization not only has no direction, but it has uncommitted employees that lack the passion and energy needed for success. As Dr. Laurie Buchanan once stated, “No involvement means no commitment—no exception.”

The planning system is where an organization defines and decides what it wants to accomplish and who will do the work to make the accomplishment happen. In a plethora of organizations, planning systems do not foster self-leadership. People are often drafted ...