The Pareto Principle says that 80% of job is completed in 20% of time.

Another application in a non-planning environment is that 80% of the efforts tend to achieve only 20% of the results. By thinking and planning we can reverse this to 20% of the efforts achieving 80% of the results. This signifies the importance of Planning. "A Plan is a trap laid to capture the future"Allen. Planning is the process by which you determine whether you should attempt the task, workout the most effective way of reaching your target and prepare to overcome unexpected difficulties with adequate resources as it helps to achieve the maximum effects from a given efforts. It bridges the gap from where the organisation is to, where it wants to be. It provides a framework within which a business must operate. It is a proactive process that is intended to help individuals; group and organisation's performance objective. But people avoid Planning because of Organizational Problems (poor effort and reward structures, fire-fighting, the get-stuck in culture, no monetary/ non monetary motivation) or Individual Problems (laziness, lack of commitment, resistance to change, fear of failure, no experience). According to Mr. Aryan Punamiya, General Marketing Manager Shree Sai Creation Ltd, "An ideal business plan should be simple, clear, suitable, flexible, continuous, comprehensive, complete, realistic, acceptable and balanced with clear unity of purpose and direction which ensures benefit to all and fullest, utilization of resources and opportunities. It offers a bench mark against which actual performance can be measured and reviewed. A business plan can play a vital role in helping to avoid mistakes or recognize hidden opportunities. It helps the management to understand more clearly what they want to achieve, when they can do it and how they should do it in a logical order As rightly said by Thomas A. Edison, Being busy doesn't always mean real work. The objective of all work is Production or Accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is nothing. A Plan should be realistic view of expectation, depending upon the activities, a plan can be long range, intermediate and of short range. Always set realistic targets/ deadlines. Realistic means the manager should know what his team is capable of and what is expected of it by their superiors. It is a blue-print of business growth and a road map of development. It is looking ahead with a defined goal in writing which is realistic, specific, acceptable and easily measurable with a purpose as it helps in deciding the objectives both in qualitative and quantitative terms, keeping in view the resources. REMEMBER: The plan will not solve all your problems. Planning is not a magic bullet for curing what ails. It is just one of the vital ingredients needed for success. However, Planning enables you to turn your dreams into reality. Planning is an essential stepping stone to business success. Failing to plan to win is the same as planning to lose! If you fail to plan, you plan to fail! Planning is a lively activity revise it, regularly as needed, as it is process that involves making and evaluating each set of interrelated decisions. It is selection of organisation's mission, objectives, values, beliefs and translation of knowledge into action. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said that that Plans are Nothing, Planning is everything. Planning takes into account all the Internal factors (new product, services or requirement of the organization, new technology, changes in organizational structure, changes in the vision, values, norms) and External Factors (competition, social, economic, global, demographic, natural, technological, task, political, legal), makes good assumptions about the industrial market environment, analyses them and focus on the critical ones. Planning is an anticipatory decision making process that involves situational analyses, forecasting outcomes and events, considering implementation issues and contingencies.

"Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now Alan Lakein. Provide sufficient time and money for planning process. Induce evaluation procedure in the plan and reward effective implementation. Always focus on the results as it is the starting point of whole management functions V like organizing, directing, controlling, co-ordinating, staffing are related to planning. Planning facilitates decision-making. Planning draws on a wide range of knowledge from many different business disciplines like finance, human resource management, intellectual property management, supply chain management, operation management, marketing and production management. "Planning is not guesswork; it is a conscious determination based on objectives, facts, forecasts and involves choosing among alternatives. It is an ongoing process that prevents small problems from becoming big. In daily life spend 10-15 minutes at the beginning of each day planning for the day or next day; it will help you to schedule your priority task, organise yourself well, it ensures unity in decision making, change management, stability, measures performance standards, achievement of purpose and provides solution to problems which helps in survival, growth and progress, keep some spare time each, as expected situations may arise. advices Mrs. Shweta Parekh CEO&MD Parekh Design and Textile Industries Ltd. Thus, Planning is rightly defined as, "The process of setting goals, developing strategies and outlining tasks and schedules to accomplish the goals." Finally, I conclude by the famous words of Tim Driskell Climber, "If you decide to go out to these wild places and put yourself in these conditions be responsible for yourself and those in your party. There are many requirements; good judgments, common sense, experience and leadership are just a few. Unexpected things can and do happen KK Be Prepared. Expect the unexpected. Always carry a sack on every climb. Be prepared to spend the might up there! Plan for the worst; but hope for the best! Here, are some important DO'S of effective Planning:- Planning is an intellectual process, conscious determination of courses of action, the basis of decision on purpose, facts and considered estimates. Koontz and O Donnell. Involve all management personnel. Create a culture within the organisation that is open to planning. Focus the plan on goals. Be aware of all the changes that needs to be made. Gather all the resources needed. Make a brief SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. Have a contingency Plan B and Plan C. Adopt Brain Storming technique for decision making. It is a process designed to obtain the maximum number of ides relating to a specific area of interest