Making the Change, Step 2: Plan
You’re reading the second part of a five-part series. Be sure to read the others:
Any goal, no matter how simplistic, is merely a dream unless it’s accompanied by a plan to achieve it. It is certainly a bad idea to plan too much, but if you’re trying to accomplish something truly important (like, say, changing the world), failing to plan enough is a far more threatening possibility…
Making the Change, Step 2: Plan, plan, plan!
A good plan is flexible. A great plan is dynamic. No matter how much time you put into your brilliant plan for change (on any level), the unexpected is going to happen. It’s a fact of life. One characteristic that separates a good plan from a great one is how well the plan can… well, change. That’s right — I said how well the plan can change… not adapt to change. (Hint: This is a way of measuring your own flexibility!) We tend to get in the habit of assuming that everything is going to go swimmingly and it will all just work itself out exactly according to our plans. Test yourself by fabricating all of the worst-case scenarios imaginable. Will you still be able to succeed?
A good plan accounts for everything. A great plan accounts for everything and then some. In other words, now that we know the unexpected is going to occur, we have to plan for it. 
During this stage, you’ll want to record anything and everything that comes to mind. Certain types of changes won’t need a detailed document, but for those that do, you’ll be able to selectively leave out unnecessary details when it comes time to draft that document. At first, write down everything. Of course, you don’t want to overdo it, either. When all is said and done, read through your plan (or better yet, have an outsider read through it) and look for any details that seem out of place. You know — the color of the sign on your business, the exact stocks you want to buy (two months before you buy them) — those minute details that make you think, “What kind of anal retentive moron came up with this? … Oh, that was me?” 
A good plan is written with a lot of thought. A great plan is written with a lot of passion. The ideas for change may develop in the brain, but they’re driven by the heart. It is absolutely vital to be passionate about change; the more difficult and large-scale our change is, the more passionate we must be. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty details… well, let’s face it — who actually likes writing a business plan? What about a grant or a proposal? But, rest assured, if this is something you really want, the details will be a cinch. Look at famous creatives like Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, and Bucky Fuller. These men were so obsessed with their works that they rarely slept — and were happy about it!
It’s all about the How
In Step 1, we asked the five W’s — Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Those questions still need to be answered in some capacity, but our main focus in planning is on the How. How is this change going to occur? How will we get from Point A (now) to Point B (later)? How should we allocate resources? Reading a great plan is like catnip for a skeptic — your plan should be able to silence anyone who doubts that your change could ever happen. Critics may be some of the most annoying folks you’ll ever encounter, but they’re the most helpful when it comes to preparing for those worst-case scenarios. So don’t shun them until after you’ve gotten the ball rolling.
Rosalie does her research and settles on a six-day aerobic workout plan with a customized diet. She’s made arrangements with a co-worker to exercise before work, although it will be all on her to hit the gym on Saturday mornings. Rosalie has decided to ease into a vegetarian diet over the next six weeks; she’ll do this by cutting down and eliminating a different type of meat from her diet every week or two. Rosalie will take daily weight measurements and keep track of how long she exercises; in the event of a slip, she will be accountable to her co-worker (who has agreed not to take such a thing lightly).
Chuck sends a memo to his employees announcing an initiative to develop the Frictionless Whatchamacallit. All research staff will be moved to this project, and the PR department will generate hype about its possibilities in the future of machinery. In the event of another stock plunge, the Board of Directors will slash current prices on older widgets and cogs; but it’s been determined that, for the time being, Widgets R Us must maintain a high revenue stream to pay for research on the Frictionless Whatchamacallit. Munnee Mann, a well-known and well-trusted financial analyst on Ceiling Street, is being considered for the V.P. of Finance position.
Emma meets with the owner of a local homeless shelter to discuss the needs of its residents. Emma wants to provide free quality education to children and adults who otherwise probably wouldn’t receive it. The shelter has hundreds of residents, and Emma obviously can’t teach them by herself — but the owner agrees to support her program, provided that Emma handles the logistics of bringing in teachers and designing a curriculum. She talks to some of the residents and discovers that the average adult has roughly a fourth-grade reading level, while the average teenager has roughly a second-grade reading level. Emma concludes that literacy would be a great place to start.
In short, a great plan will guide you through change without forcibly restricting your options. Now that we’ve been through the tedium of planning, planning, and more planning, it’s time for the hard stuff! 
In Step 3, we’ll look at how to acquire resources (i.e. money and people) in preparation for, ya know, actually putting that plan into action…
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