Graybelt Innovations

Planning

We all understand the importance of planning. We recognize that having a well-thought-out response plan in advance can lead to better outcomes in critical situations. Yet, despite knowing this, we often neglect to create one—or we do the bare minimum, just enough to satisfy legal or job requirements.

Scientific evidence suggests that as far back as the time of Homo erectus, early humans understood the value of planning. Archaeological findings indicate that they engaged in activities requiring foresight, such as tool-making, food storage, and coordinated hunting strategies. This demonstrates that planning has been a fundamental part of human survival for hundreds of thousands of years.Clarify the following. Having a plan to achieve our goals is ingrained in our genetics. The minute a child is born he or she cries. This indicates that he or she needs something. The behavior of crying to achieve some goal can continue for some, I won’t be gender specific, through their adulthood.

I won’t dwell on why this happens, as I don’t want to sound condescending. Instead, for those who learn best through visuals, I’ve included an original piece of artwork to illustrate the point.

The drive to achieve our goals is hardwired into our DNA. From the moment a child is born, they cry—clearly wanting something. For some people (no need to specify gender here), that strategy continues well into adulthood.

Extensive research on planning was conducted by Craig Brown. Several pages of notes were added to a prompt, which produced the following text. While reading it won’t give you any practical insight into understanding Reflex, those with an academic interest are welcome to explore it.

About Planning

1. Introduction

Planning is a fundamental cognitive activity that enables human beings (and, to some extent, some animal species) to anticipate future events, coordinate actions, and achieve desired outcomes. It involves creating a structure—a sequence of tasks or steps—to move from a current state toward a goal. However, even the best-designed plan is useless if it is inaccessible or not rehearsed when it must be executed. This report surveys:

  1. Historical/anthropological evidence of early human planning.
  2. The importance of planning and its rehearsal.
  3. Contrasts between everyday and corporate (emergency) planning, including legal requirements.
  4. Parallels with martial arts and the role of muscle memory in executing a plan.
  5. The persistent challenge of plan availability.
  6. Potential solutions or approaches to ensure critical plans are on-hand in urgent situations.

2. Historical and Anthropological Evidence of Planning

2.1 Early Evidence Among Prehistoric Humans

Scholars suggest that rudimentary forms of planning likely appeared alongside advances in tool-making and cooperative hunting. Archaeological findings hint that Homo erectus, who emerged roughly 1.8 million years ago, demonstrated forward-looking behaviors (e.g., transporting toolmaking materials over long distances before using them). Although direct evidence of “written plans” did not exist then, such complex, multi-step activities strongly indicate the capacity for planning.

  • Lee & DeVore (1968) in Man the Hunter propose that efficient group hunts required organized roles, timing, and collaboration—clear signs of advanced planning.
  • Premack & Woodruff (1978), in their work on theory of mind in both animals and humans, note that advanced planning likely developed as humans began to model not only their own future behavior but that of others.

2.2 Early Recorded Planning in Ancient Civilizations

Once writing systems emerged (around 3200–3000 BCE in Mesopotamia and Egypt), we see recorded evidence of planning for agriculture, building projects, military campaigns, and resource management. One example is the logistical planning for pyramid construction in ancient Egypt, involving detailed workforce organization, resource allocation, and timelines—though rarely referred to as a “plan” in modern terms.

  • Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (circa 5th century BCE) is often cited as one of the earliest treatises on military strategy and planning, emphasizing preparedness, knowing oneself and the enemy, and the value of rehearsing maneuvers.

3. Importance of Planning and Rehearsal

3.1 Why Planning Matters

  1. Reduces Uncertainty: A plan structures tasks and responsibilities, helping participants prepare for possible outcomes.
  2. Facilitates Coordination: Complex undertakings (e.g., large-scale projects or military operations) require orchestrated efforts—planning aligns these.
  3. Enables Resource Management: Allocation of time, finances, people, equipment, or materials can be optimized by forethought.

3.2 The Role of Rehearsal

Planning, by itself, is often insufficient without practice. Rehearsal involves repeated execution (or partial execution) of a plan. From a cognitive perspective, rehearsal strengthens memory encoding and streamlines decision-making in the moment.

  • Weick (1988), in his work on crisis management, emphasizes that organizations which “rehearse” or drill their crisis response exhibit more agility and confidence under pressure.
  • Martial arts present a clear illustration: a planned defense or counterattack is effective only if the practitioner has drilled it so often that it becomes a reflex. The block becomes near-instantaneous because the plan is internalized through muscle memory.

4. Contrasting Everyday vs. Corporate (Emergency) Planning

4.1 Everyday Planning

  • Small-Scale Tasks: Examples include weekly meal plans, daily to-do lists, or personal budgeting.
  • Execution: Typically involves fewer people or resources.
  • Adaptability: Informal, easily adjusted on the fly; rarely subject to legal oversight.

4.2 Corporate and Emergency Planning

  • High Stakes: Corporate plans often involve legal, financial, safety, and brand-reputation considerations.
  • Legal Requirements: In many industries, certain plans are mandatory by law. For example, data breach response plans or safety/evacuation plans in the chemical manufacturing sector (see McConnell & Drennan, 2006 for discussion of crisis plans and mandates).
  • Formal Documentation: Standard operating procedures (SOPs), business continuity plans (BCPs), and disaster recovery plans (DRPs) must often be written, reviewed, signed off, and periodically updated.
  • Rehearsal Mandates: Some regulatory bodies require routine drills (e.g., fire drills, data breach exercises). Repeated drills ensure that employees do not merely rely on reading a plan—they internalize it.

5. The Problem of Plan Availability

Despite sophisticated software tools, knowledge bases, or policy documents, a recurring problem remains: plans are often not accessible or conveniently usable at the very moment they are needed.

5.1 Paper vs. Electronic Documents

  1. Paper Documents
  2. Pros: Tangible, portable, can be read without power or devices.
  3. Cons: Bulky when lengthy, easy to lose or damage, not always feasible for quick updates, rarely carried around in everyday routines.
  4. Electronic Documents
  5. Pros: Easily updated, searchable, can be stored and shared in real time.
  6. Cons: Depend on specific hardware/software, not always accessible if power or network connectivity fails, and often designed for large screens, making them difficult to navigate on mobile devices.

5.2 Observed Shortcomings

  • Emergency Situations: Employees may not have immediate access to corporate servers or power sources during an emergency.
  • Mobile Incompatibility: PDF or document formats typically created for desktops are unwieldy on small screens, limiting quick navigation.
  • Over-Reliance on Connectivity: If the plan resides on a central server or intranet requiring an online session, it may be unavailable during network outages—precisely when it is most needed.

This issue has persisted for decades in information security and business continuity fields, as some of the earliest standards and frameworks (e.g., BS 7799/ISO 27001, COBIT) required documented plans. Yet the core challenge remains unsolved: plans must be accessible and comprehensible in critical moments.

6. Potential Solutions proposed by Open AI’s “Deep Thinking” Model 1

(Summary:  There is no solution.)

Below are a few practical strategies and emerging ideas to ensure that crucial plans can be referred to quickly and effectively in a crisis:

  1. Condensed “Pocket” Guides
  2. Rather than distributing the full large document, create short, step-by-step pocket guides or laminated quick-reference sheets.
  3. These can accompany ID badges or be posted in common areas.
  4. Pro: Minimal reading at a glance, easy to store.
  5. Con: Requires careful prioritization of the most important steps.
  6. Offline-Capable Mobile Apps
  7. Develop or use specialized apps that pre-download all necessary planning data.
  8. They should be designed with a mobile-friendly interface, enabling rapid search and navigation.
  9. Pro: Lightweight, updatable, can run without connectivity.
  10. Con: Requires attention to user interface design and ensures employees install/maintain the app.
  11. Wearable Tech or NFC-Enabled Tags
  12. Storing critical instructions on scannable NFC tags or using wearables (e.g., specialized smartwatches) that contain quick reference steps.
  13. Pro: Potentially hands-free or extremely portable.
  14. Con: Niche technology, requires specialized hardware.
  15. Embedded Training and Drills
  16. The most robust method is practicing the plan through routine drills. If every individual has rehearsed the necessary steps enough times, the plan becomes part of their “muscle memory.”
  17. Pro: Reliable even if no physical or electronic copy is handy.
  18. Con: Requires frequent training and potentially time-consuming practice sessions.
  19. Emergency Station Kiosks
  20. Some organizations install offline-accessible terminals (like locked-down tablets or dedicated devices) in critical areas.
  21. Pro: Ensures a stable and universally available reference point.
  22. Con: Hardware costs and maintenance can be high; the device must be durable and powered.

7. Martial Arts Parallels: Planning, Practice, and Reflex

Martial arts practice provides a clear illustration of how frequent rehearsal of a plan leads to success in high-stress situations. When a punch is thrown, the practiced plan—“block first, counter second”—occurs almost automatically. Similarly, in corporate or emergency contexts:

  • Frequent Drills → Conditioned Responses
  • Predefined Steps → Swift, Confident Action
  • Muscle Memory → Reduced Cognitive Load

Just as martial artists do not rely on a printed manual during a sparring match, organizations and individuals should not rely solely on reading a plan for the first time during a crisis. Continuous training and repetition encode the plan into reflex, bridging the gap when documents are not accessible.

8. Conclusion

Planning is as old as human cooperation itself, evidenced in prehistoric hunting strategies and later formalized in ancient civilizations’ architectural, agricultural, and military endeavors. Modern organizations have elevated planning to a systematized practice—especially where it is mandated by law (e.g., business continuity, emergency procedures).

Yet a primary and enduring obstacle remains: making the plan actually available when it is needed. Technological advancements have yielded sophisticated planning software, but the reliance on large-screen formats, power, and connectivity can fail during crises. Likewise, printing a voluminous plan is often impractical for constant reference.

Rehearsal (and thus internalization of critical steps) is arguably the most reliable fallback in emergency or high-stress scenarios—akin to the reflexive defense in martial arts. Organizations and individuals seeking better accessibility should consider a combination of solutions—pocket guides, offline-ready apps, strategic training—that keep crucial information ready at hand. With the right blend of technology, design, and human practice, the age-old challenge of “where is the plan when we need it?” can begin to be resolved.

Selected References

  • Lee, R. B., & DeVore, I. (1968). Man the Hunter. Aldine de Gruyter.
  • McConnell, A., & Drennan, L. (2006). Mission impossible? Planning and preparing for crisis. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 14(2), 59–70.
  • Premack, D., & Woodruff, G. (1978). Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(4), 515–526.
  • Sun Tzu. (5th century BCE). The Art of War. Various translations.
  • Weick, K. E. (1988). Enacted sensemaking in crisis situations. Journal of Management Studies, 25(4), 305–317.

(Additional relevant literature includes crisis management frameworks, organizational theory on contingency planning, and anthropological studies on early human cooperative behaviors.)