34 of the Best Planning Quotes

People seem to have been writing about planning for as long as they have been writing. No surprise there. No enterprise, whether it’s assembling the space shuttle or getting dinner on the table, is done well without a project plan.

Every project manager, team leader or successful person, knows the importance of planning. However, having a plan is very important but it’s not the only thing to do. Sometimes it’s easy to get overly excited about a project, causing you to neglect best practices such as creating a thorough project management plan or using a project planning software.

Need a tool to help you with your planning? Try ProjectManager, an award-winning project and work management software. Choose from multiple different views like task lists, kanban boards, Gantt charts and sheets to plan your project. Invite your team and collaborate online. Planning has never been easier. Try it for free.

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Planning Quotes

We’ve collected 34 of the best planning quotes, to inspire you to slow down and craft a thorough plan that will lead you to your goal, whether that be an iPhone app, an artistic masterpiece or a Valentine’s Day dinner.

1. “Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.” – Winston Churchill

It might seem as if the former prime minister of the United Kingdom is discussing the same thing. But plans and planning are different. Work plans may change many times, but understanding the importance of planning is what matters most. When planning a project, it’s not just an idea, but a specific, measurable, time-bound and achievable goal, which has been thought through with resources to get one there and a forecast of the cost it will take. No one understands this better than Churchill, who led his country through WWII and against the odds won.

2. “The more time you spend contemplating what you should have done…you lose valuable time planning what you can and will do.” – Lil Wayne

A project manager might not think they could learn anything practical from a rapper, but one should keep an open mind. Lil Wayne makes sense. Thinking about a project is going to leave you just where you are and, eventually, whatever opportunity there was will have vanished. Planning is thinking with a specific goal in mind and an action way to achieve it. That’s the difference between fantasy and reality.

3. “Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The poet and essayist is not known for being business-minded. He preferred to sit out in nature. But that doesn’t mean project managers and their teams can’t learn from the contemplation he did on a tree stump. It’s true, most people and failed projects go from one thing to another without a plan in sight. It’s like trying to reach a destination without a map. You’ll never get there.

4. “Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 percent return on energy.” – Brian Tracy

Brian Tracy is an author and motivational speaker, which is not necessarily a ringing endorsement in this age of influencers vying for our attention. However, what he says makes sense, certain to project managers. Planning saves time. Many people feel the need to jump right in as if a project is a pool and there’s no point in slowly wading in. But that’s foolish. Planning sets up a project for success. Just replace return on energy with return on investment and you’ll get it.

5. “I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.” – Benjamin Disraeli

The British politician and author has defined project planning as well as anyone. The whole reason for a project is to achieve a goal or objective. No one goes into that project thinking they’re going to fail. They’re hoping for the best. But a wise project manager understands that there are always risks, which is why making an action plan is essential when preparing for those risks.

6. “You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one. I don’t believe in little plans. I believe in planes big enough to meet a situation which we can’t possibly foresee now.” – Harry S. Truman

The president who led the United States to victory at the end of WWII is no stranger to big plans. One of the biggest was the Manhattan Project. Whether one appreciates the results, there is arguably no bigger plan even conceived by man, and it was successfully delivered (though Japan might have another opinion). What all can agree on is that plans must be big enough to capture the project scope. Thinking small is only going to diminish one’s returns.

7. “We cannot drive people; we must direct their development.” – Henry Gantt

If the surname is familiar, you’re a project manager. Henry Gantt is indeed the man who invented the most commonly used planning tool in project management, the Gantt chart. He must know a thing or two about project planning. His quote isn’t directly about making a project plan, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that people achieve their goals when driven by a plan, preferably mapped out on a Gantt chart.

8. “If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters – 204 if you’re in Japan.” – Claire Cook

Writer and motivational speaker Claire Cook has exposed a truth about project planning: nothing goes as planned. But a project plan is just the beginning. It’s not a document etched in bronze. It is open to change as internal and external forces demand a change in plans. Keeping to a plan for no other reason than it’s the project plan will destine one to failure. What Cook is saying is to identify risks and prepare to adapt.

9. “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

This planning quote from Tolkien’s fantasy classic The Hobbit does what all good quotes should do speaks to the reader on many levels. This is, of course, a piece of dialogue that moves the plot forward. But Tolkien isn’t merely talking about made-up lands. He’s referring to the necessity of identifying risk in any thorough plan.

Related: Project Plan Template

10. “By Failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

You can always count on our Founding Fathers for good copy, and none gives better than Benjamin Franklin. He collected them in his Old Farmer’s Almanac and a few probably made their way into some of our fundamental governing documents. Freeing a country from under the powerful arm of a great power is going to take some planning, which Franklin knew was the first step toward success.

Related: Action Plan Template

11. “Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.” – Gloria Steinem

Sometimes we forget that a plan is a document that puts structure around an idea. But without that vision to set the plan in motion, there’s no point in following through. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem understands that before there is a plan, there is a dream. That’s always the first step in any plan.

12. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln

No president had to face as great a challenge as Abraham Lincoln. If he hadn’t spent time planning and placing sensitive pieces, we’d likely be living in a very different country today. Never neglect the time and effort necessary for due diligence before action.

13. “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” – Yogi Berra

Out of the mouth of baseball players often comes great wisdom. The term Yogi-isims was created to describe Berra’s malapropisms and unintentional witticism. But they’re not just for laughs. As simple as the above statement is, nothing is more true.

14. “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” – John F. Kennedy

President John Kennedy filled the United States with hope, and then we all know what happened. But when we still were filled with a sense of optimism about the future, Kennedy made it clear that whatever future we had in front of us was due to what we did behind it.

15. “The more time you spend contemplating what you should have done…you lose valuable time planning what you can and will do.” – Lil Wayne

Hip-hop is omnivorous, so it was only a matter of time before a rapper like Lil Wayne spoke to the concerns of project managers. While it’s important to learn from your mistakes, you can get bogged down in the “blame game.” Figure out where you fell; then get back up, and try again.

16. “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt hits on something important here with this quote about planning. She understands the human capacity to wish upon a star, to want something badly and hope that, by some trick of chance or fate, it will be given to you. But things rarely land on your lap, and if they do, they might not be what you want. Plan and you will receive.

17. “Have a bias towards action – let’s see something happen now. You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away.” – Indira Gandhi

The Indian politician and stateswoman would have made a great project manager. She sees that big projects are made up of small, actionable takes. Plans are broken down into phases called milestones, which are made up of tasks, and that way things get done.

18. “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.” – Peter F. Drucker

Author and educator Peter Drucker is saying that there is no plan without buy-in from all parties involved. That means from the stakeholders to the team members. The project leader must motivate and get everyone committed, or else a plan is useless.

19. “Making a plan without the right tools is like making spaghetti without a pot.” – ProjectManager

We might have made this one up. Give it time, though. I’m sure it’ll be up there with Lincoln, Socrates and Martha Stewart as a top-tier, super quotable quote. Why? Because it’s true!

There’s meaning embedded in there: planning is just an abstract act until you execute that plan. If you don’t have a pot, or project management tools, then your spaghetti, or project, isn’t going to get done.

Plans are complicated, like recipes. There are a lot of ingredients you need to keep track of and place in the right order. ProjectManager is a project management software that helps projects get organized. Its online Gantt chart pulls a task list into a schedule on a project timeline, complete with milestones and linked task dependencies, so everything works together as planned.

Watch the video to learn more about ProjectManager’s project planning tools, and how they can help make your next project plan a success.

Okay. We just love project management and had to put our two cents in. Back to the real list.

20. “A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble at his door.” – Confucius

Few have had a greater influence on more people than Chinese philosopher Confucius. It’s not hard to see why, with such sage sayings as this one. Planning is essential to the survival of everything, from a project to a person. We all must plan or suffer great risk.

21. “Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” – Richard Cushing

Richard Cushing, an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, shows that regardless of your beliefs, there is wisdom in religious text. You can find it in this planning quote, which is a perfect example of the necessity of being prepared.

22. “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett

Who understands the need to prepare for the future better than an investor, and who is a better investor than Warren Buffett? Plan now and reap the benefits later. That’s true in financial markets or building a skyscraper. It takes time, but the hard work pays off.

23. “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Pablo Picasso

Even creative types like the fabled master of modern art Pablo Picasso knew that inspiration is only a small part of any effort. The creative process is one of planning, failing and planning anew. But those plans are rooted in a belief that they will work. Without that faith, no plan will clear the hurdles that block the progress of any project.

24. “Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.” – Tom Landry

Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry knows a thing or two about leading a team to success. While scoring points is, of course, how you do it, that’s not as easily said as done. A good coach uses a plan to exploit the talents of this team, and sticks to it – unless it must change. Landry didn’t say that, but I did.

25. “Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” – Thomas Edison

Yes, sometimes the fates are smiling at you, and it’s as if everything just falls into place. But you can’t bank on luck. Inventor Thomas Edison saw that while opportunity is important, if you’re not prepared for it by having a plan to take advantage, then that opportunity will pass you by.

26. “Just because you made a good plan, doesn’t mean that’s what’s gonna happen.” Taylor Swift

Singer, songwriter and all-around cultural phenom Taylor Swift knows that a good plan is a good project start. But if you want to finish what you started you might have to throw that plan out and make a new one. Things change, including your plan.

27. “Unless you have definite, precise, clearly set goals, you are not going to realize the maximum potential that lies within you.” – Zig Ziglar

Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says that the sharper your focus, the closer you’ll come to hitting your target. Planning must be thorough, thinking through all the resources you’ll need, the budget and the time you must complete the project. The more planning you do, the better your results.

28. “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” – Alexander Graham Bell

Creating the telephone took planning. Alexander Graham Bell might have had his eye on the prize, but he understood the need to prepare for the process that would get him there.

29. “To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.” – Leonard Bernstein

It’s funny because it’s true. Composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein knows that plans are everything; we can work them up to be as thorough as possible, but time will always make a joke of our plans. Things happen; time doesn’t care.

30. “The reason that everybody likes planning is that nobody has to do anything.” – Jerry Brown

Jerry Brown has led one of the largest states in the union and one of the largest economies in the world as governor of California. He’s probably seen a lot of wheel spinning that has never touched ground to lead to action. It’s a danger of planning that everyone should be aware of: plans are crucial, but without action they’re nothing.

31. “I ain’t Martin Luther King. I don’t need a dream. I have a plan.” – Spike Lee

Director Spike Lee is making a point. Of course, his work is driven by a passionate dream to create stories that he feels compelled to tell. But without having a plan, that’s all they would be, dreams.

32. “When my company started really growing, I didn’t have any help in my house at all. I had the upkeep of my daily life, I had a one year old and a three year old, and I had my house. So I had to prioritize.” – Julie Aigner Clark

The entrepreneur who founded Baby Einstein hits on a key element of any strong plan. That is prioritization. A plan should be exhaustive, listing everything, no matter how minute. But then comes the hard part of prioritizing those tasks to know what must be done, what should be done and what could be left undone.

33. “I don’t believe in failure. It’s not failure if you enjoyed the process.” – Oprah Winfrey

Planning is the structuring of process. Failure is a part of every plan. That’s why there’s risk and risk management to prepare for the bumps on the road to success. As Oprah Winfrey notes, those failures are not failures; they’re part of the process.

34. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

The theory of evolution has been used to explain a lot of things, but let’s let the scientist who came up with the idea from his observations have the last word. Charles Darwin might not be speaking about planning per se, but he understands that without being flexible all plans will break.

Did these quotes inspire you to get to planning? Great! Now you’ll want to have some practical tools to get the job done more efficiently. ProjectManager is online project management software that gives you online Gantt charts to schedule those plans and collaborate with your team when they need adjusting. Also, our real-time dashboard helps you monitor and report on project progress without any unnecessary delays. Plan for success by taking this free 30-day trial today.