Do What Matters Most

7The Power of Pre-week Planning

Before a pilot jumps into the cockpit, they will always do their pre-flight planning. In the fighter pilot world, it takes between one and ten hours to plan a single mission, depending on its complexity. Pre-flight planning includes researching the target or destination; planning the route of flight; checking the weather, the aircraft maintenance records; and so on.

Imagine what would happen if a pilot said, “Forget it, we don’t need to do our pre-flight planning; we’re just going to wing it today!” In the fighter pilot world, that would result in chaos, misalignment, and confusion—not good!

How many times do people go into their week without a plan and expect a different result? Just as pre-flight planning is ...