ABSTRACT
Most decisions are made with some planning-instinctive and immediate, or deliberate and prolonged. Planning is not only deciding to do the appropriate thing at the appropriate time and space with the appropriate people. Planning helps avoid excessive cost, lost time, wasted effort, and the need to do something over again. Community planning done by a government agency is different from the same planning done by an independent consulting firm. Still, the process of rational planning is the same, especially for uncomplicated assignments with near horizons. Plans for the future are made with different levels of detail and for different purposes, depending on how far into the future you are planning. The closer the horizon-and therefore the closer the intended action-the more action-oriented and more specific the planning should be. A comparatively small investment in planning time, effort, and money can have a major influence on success, satisfaction, and productiveness during the useful life of the thing being planned.
