Leadership Competency #4

Planning Basics - 3/18

NOTE: This module draws from my earlier work under Black Market Leadership. The ideas here predate Chaos Studies in Leadership and form the foundation that made this work possible.

This section explains why planning is essential to effective leadership, especially in complex, distributed, and uncertain environments.

First, planning dramatically increases the chances of success. In real-world settings—where teams are dispersed, resources are limited, and friction is constant—people often misunderstand goals, priorities, and tasks. Planning aligns the team around a shared objective, clarifies what matters, and ensures everyone knows where to focus their effort. By reducing confusion and misalignment, planning improves both short-term execution and long-term repeatable success.