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Peter

I think the first people to say this were actually the 10 virgins in Christ's parable of the 10 virgins.

Randy Bosch

Sadly, I heard the saying too often from a few "team" members who ignored the overall plan, imposed their personal plan and then did not fulfill their commitments despite resources in hand and assistance available when requested.

When your team members admonish you for your alleged lack of planning, they may be right, or they may be telling you the obvious - its all about THEM.

This is a two-way street.

Marc Estrella

I first heard a variant of this (Lack of planning on your part; does not constitute an emergency on my part,) from someone in the US Army while I was in high school. I also know of people who need to be told this by individuals who have no qualms about being hard core about the issue.

Jimmy @ The Careerist

While I agree 110% with this sentiment (heck, I'd go almost as far as tattooing it on the back of my neck), there's something to be said for those who go above and beyond to placate the poor planners...especially if those poor planners are the same people who conduct your performance evaluations.

Joe M

Welcome to my world. I have a client who is a lovely man and quite often a good leader. But time has different meaning for him than it does to just about everyone else on the planet. So while his behavior is not mean-spirited, it's just as dysfunctional. Stay tuned as I report progress in my intervention.

Flint Lane

Or the corollary, "If everything is an emergency, then nothing is."

It's fine to rally the troops when an opportunity/emergency presents itself, but asking people to run through a wall too frequently will have them running for the doors.

Aaron

"In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable." -Eisenhower

Following along to the plan no matter what can feel quite dictatorial. There should perhaps be the right amount of communication and collaborative decision making as well.

Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius | LeanStartups.com

"Your lack of planning does not constitute emergency on my part" was one of the mottos I used in the way I managed things straight out of school. But than one of my mentors heard about that arrogance of mine and helped me understand that the 6 Ps (5 if you don't use an expletive) is not about others, it is about me.
If you take care of your people, they don't end up running around with their hair on fire.
I have been working in business operations of rapidly growing companies for the majority of my career. The 6Ps is my motto. The other one should be left for arrogant "grasshoppers".

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