Many plans can be written up to achieve things that are wanted, but these are just plans. These plans won’t be completed until the “when and how and by whom” has been worked out, scheduled, approved or agreed on.

This is why planning sometimes is thought to be too difficult, unnecessary or a waste of time.

You could plan to make a million dollars but if the when, how and who were not written up in program form as targets of different types, it just wouldn’t happen.

For example, say an excellent plan is worked out covering how to change a harbor (a protected area of water that ships can stay in) into an area for very large ships carrying oil. It could be on drawings with everything perfectly placed and there could even be models of it. Ten years go by and it has not even been started. You may have seen such plans. Many of them are shown at world’s fairs (large public events at which countries from around the world show their arts, crafts, industrial and agricultural products, scientific advances, etc.).

Or there could be a plan that was actually targeted in program form, including the when, how and who, but it would never be completed because the targets were hard to do or unreal.

You can also have a plan that had no CONDITIONAL TARGET (a target that is done to find out data, or if a project can be done, where it can be done, etc.). Without such a target at the beginning, it could turn out that no one really wanted it and it was not useful, so it would probably not ever be finished.

Such a thing existed on an island near Greece. It was a half-completed theater from thousands of years ago that had just been left that way. No one had asked the people if they wanted it or if it was needed. So even though it was very well planned and even partially targeted and half-completed, there it was—half-finished. And has remained that way.

A plan can also be a drawing or a model (a copy that is smaller than the original) of something or some area or project. This type of plan has to be done for any type of construction—construction fails without it. It can even be okayed as a plan.

But if the plan was done without a conditional target, it will be useless or won’t fit in. Other reasons why a plan might not be done would be if no money is allowed for it, if no one is ordered to do it or if it hasn’t been scheduled.

Where someone has worked out a plan and a program that will need to be approved, he would have to present the following information about it:

1. A result of a conditional target (survey of what’s wanted and needed).

2. The details of the thing itself, meaning a picture of it or the amount of work that would be involved in it, plus how easy or difficult it would be to do and with what persons or materials.

3. Saying whether it is very important or if it is just useful.

4. The primary targets, showing the organization needed to do it (the organizational, personnel and communication steps).

5. The operating targets, showing the time involved and how it fits in with other actions (those which lay out directions and actions or a schedule of events or timetable).

6. Its cost and whether it will pay for itself or can be afforded or how much money it will make.

The program would have to include the targets.

A plan would be the design of the thing itself.

This shows why some plans don’t result in anything and why they often don’t get completed, even when planned. It could be because the plan was not organized with the targets arranged as correct types of targets and in a correct sequence. As a result, the plan is unreal or doesn’t get done.

Sometimes a conditional target is not correct and this could keep the plan and program from being completed. A conditional target may not try to find out if there are blocks that would prevent the plan from being done. Or possibly it does not find out what people and skills are available.

But if these points are understood, then the subject of organizing and planning becomes very clear. A person writing programs can become extremely skilled and can achieve things that could not have been achieved before or possibly were never even thought of before.