Planning is a process that involves setting goals and identifying the resources and means to achieve them, following steps that must be taken over time. Ordinary planning, therefore, allows one to organize a plan and program actions to be undertaken in the future, starting in the present.

However, it is even better to approach planning ingeniously, using strategic intelligence that goes beyond the standard planning perspective employed by companies aiming for sustainable success.

To plan ingeniously, one must first sit down and conduct an in-depth analysis of the areas of their life and challenges, whether they are complex or not. Then, one must select the best direction to take, setting clear and precise goals and examining winning strategies to achieve them.

It is important to reach the final destination in an adequate and optimal manner, minimizing risks, and using resources and activities adapted to life’s changes and various constraints.

Ingenious planning is a dynamic process that allows the development of winning strategies with creativity and pragmatism, the realization of bold ideas, and the effective structuring and execution of a relevant and realistic detailed plan. In this way, we serve others and fulfill our life mission.

However, this planning is influenced by the quality of our heart (ethical values, etc.), which guides decisions and their impact on society, the environment, and stakeholders. It is, therefore, crucial to minimize risks and maximize opportunities that come our way.

In the end, a good strategy recognizes the nature of the challenge and proposes a way to overcome it, as Richard Rumelt, the author of Good Strategy Bad Strategy, emphasizes. It is not enough to simply be ambitious to succeed; it is essential to plan astutely in order to realize our dreams, excel in all aspects of our lives, and navigate this complex world.

This requires not only intelligence but also insight, discipline, and unwavering commitment to our aspirations. Ingenious planning is a dynamic process for defining and deploying a strategic plan with agility for our overall growth and to serve others.

To illustrate what ingenious planning entails and its importance, let’s look at the example of the creation of the world. The Bible, the best-selling book in the world, which I like to call the “book of hidden treasures,” presents the creation of Earth and other events in an interesting light.

God used a meticulous and intelligent process to create the world, following a winning strategy structured into various smart and prioritized stages over seven optimized days. He started by creating light, an essential and important element that communicates life, before creating plants and finally human beings, whose needs require, for example, these first creations.

This timeline demonstrates the intelligence with which God created an environment conducive to life, meeting the needs of each element of creation. Thus, we can draw inspiration from this approach to achieve our dreams in a planned and intelligent manner. Moreover, God was focused on His ultimate goal and evaluated His creations each day with the qualifier “good,” except for the creation of human beings, which He called “very good.”

In anticipation of the challenges linked to the human environment, God planned from the start another strategy. Furthermore, God, who is outside of time, created time and places great importance on it. Hence, every day, we see this phrase from the Creator: “there was morning and evening.” All of this reveals practical keys and also shows that the Creator of the universe and everything within it is an ingenious and wise planner.

So, what about you? You are too—or at least you have that potential within you. It’s just a matter of becoming more aware of it!

Humans Are Potential Ingenious Planners:

Human existence on this Earth is similar to that of a traveler with a mind full of treasures and potentials, among which the ability to plan is one of the most precious. We all have thoughts and plans for the future, such as traveling abroad or launching a sports show.

Although laziness may prevent us from achieving them, it is important to understand that each individual is capable of bringing these plans to fruition. If we possess such capabilities, it is no small matter—it is a special intelligence given to every human being. We must, therefore, be aware of it and embrace it to live out this truth.

I’m probably not telling you anything new by reminding you of this saying: “he who travels far spares his horse.” Let me illustrate this with the example of You or Me (you or I) who has a project to take a business trip by car (see the illustration in the following diagram).

The key to any project’s success lies in good planning. To succeed, You or Me must move from a simple project idea to clear organization by asking the right questions…

This text is an excerpt from the book DESTINED TO SHINE by Nadia KPONDJO.

We invite you to read the following article “ESSENTIAL NEEDS OF THE WORLD”.