Enlightened Trial and Error Succeeds Over the Planning of the Lone Genius

Enlightened trial and error succeeds over the planning of the lone genius.” This quote comes from a Nightline broadcast more than 10 years ago on the design firm IDEO. I have seen the video many times which documents their process of designing something truly different and unique. But when I saw the video again a few weeks ago, this quote struck me more significantly than it has in the past. Many times we spend countless hours crafting our message, building our plans and designing our strategies. Much like an annual report, which is said to be a document that is read more before it is published than after, our business plans and strategy documents are revised and refined to “perfection.” Yet when we go to the market, our tactics are often worthless. As Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Read complete Plan B Philosophy blog post.