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> But I would never have a five-year plan. If I’d stuck to my original five-year plan when I was 18, I would have missed every great thing that ever happened to

> But I would never have a five-year plan. If I’d stuck to my original five-year plan when I was 18, I would have missed every great thing that ever happened to me. _____ As someone who just created the general outline of a five-year plan (my first one), I'm wondering what other HNers have to say about the subject.

pjc50 10y ago
"Plans are useless. Planning is vital." -- attr. Eisenhower. That is, you need to do the planning to look around and see e.g. what your strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats are, what your objectives are, and what direction to set out in. Otherwise you run the risk of paralysis or being permanently behind events. On the other hand, reality deviates from the plan immediately, for better or for worse. But at least you have the information gathered from the planning phase to re-plan from.
teekert 10y ago
Haha, nothing wrong with making plans and adding some focus to life, but realize that "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" and don't skip great and fun opportunities because of your plan, that's all.
optimuspaul 10y ago
I've never planned that far out. I've had hopes for 5 years out but never plans. Even a year out a ludicrous to me. I may plan things a few months out but even that is begging for plans to be broken. But I'm a somewhat spontaneous person and don't like rigidity in my life even if it's self imposed.
sremani 10y ago
5 year plans for execution or term planning is hard hard. Peter Drucker says 18-months is the right term, I largely agree with that. Life is not a constant, and 5 years into future is a bit hard to predict unless you are in Geopolitical prediction business. I do not know much about business, since I am not a business owner nor wear an executive suit.
zaphar 10y ago
There is a difference between plans and goals. Many times a five year will need to change drastically and often without changing the overall goal. A plan isn't a bad thing but being overly committed to it can be fatal. One of the things about publishing a five year plan for a company is that you are usually judged in the markets by how closely you stuck to and succeeded in that plan. In tech, and probably most other industries as well, that can be fatal. Publishing a goal is a little less fatal since it doesn't outline a series of steps toward reaching that goal and allows you flexibility to pivot. Assuming of course that you didn't phrase your goal in the form of a plan or get too specific or detailed.
freddyc 10y ago
From personal experience 5 year goals/plans can help to give you a very broad outlook on where you want to get to, but be prepared to tear them up every 2-3 years ;) When I look back to 2011 I'd never have guessed that I would be where I am, doing what I do, today. I'm confident I'll be able to say the same in 2021. My parents grew up with the "one-company-for-life" mentality, but I'm a firm believer that it's good to mix things up every few years to keep yourself fresh and motivated. That's not to say you should abandon something that you're truly passionate about if you continue to derive long-term enjoyment from it, but rather be open and flexible to new opportunities as they may take you places you'd never imagine.
nibs 10y ago
Visualize what you want from life. Move towards your vision.
20years 10y ago
I have never made a 5 year plan and looking back over the past 15 years of my business, I am thankful I didn't. At least in my business, there has been a significant cycle that seems to happen about every 2 years. Meaning a big change happened, the landscape changed, situations changed which forced us to have to react and change very quickly. A 5 year plan or even a 2 year plan would have killed the business long ago. That similar trend has shown up in my personal life too, although not as often.
mch82 10y ago
> the general outline of a five-year plan A general outline is useful to have. A useful four-year plan is kind of like "graduate from college". Lots of room for improvisation along the way, but the ability to measure if life is headed in the direction you want to be headed. In practice, I've found it impossible to follow a plan beyond two years due to external factors (friends and co-workers move, industries change, laws change, deaths, etc.). Those external factors seem to speed up with age. However, having a "general outline" (like waypoints on a journey) helps to correct course or select an alternate path when those inevitable changes happen.
bbctol 10y ago
Goals are important. Actions are important. Plans are debatable. If every day, you're taking actions that will help you achieve your goals, you'll probably turn out okay.

pjc50 10y ago

"Plans are useless. Planning is vital." -- attr. Eisenhower. That is, you need to do the planning to look around and see e.g. what your strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats are, what your objectives are, and what direction to set out in. Otherwise you run the risk of paralysis or being permanently behind events. On the other hand, reality deviates from the plan immediately, for better or for worse. But at least you have the information gathered from the planning phase to re-plan from.

teekert 10y ago

Haha, nothing wrong with making plans and adding some focus to life, but realize that "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" and don't skip great and fun opportunities because of your plan, that's all.

optimuspaul 10y ago

I've never planned that far out. I've had hopes for 5 years out but never plans. Even a year out a ludicrous to me. I may plan things a few months out but even that is begging for plans to be broken. But I'm a somewhat spontaneous person and don't like rigidity in my life even if it's self imposed.

sremani 10y ago

5 year plans for execution or term planning is hard hard. Peter Drucker says 18-months is the right term, I largely agree with that. Life is not a constant, and 5 years into future is a bit hard to predict unless you are in Geopolitical prediction business. I do not know much about business, since I am not a business owner nor wear an executive suit.

zaphar 10y ago

There is a difference between plans and goals. Many times a five year will need to change drastically and often without changing the overall goal. A plan isn't a bad thing but being overly committed to it can be fatal. One of the things about publishing a five year plan for a company is that you are usually judged in the markets by how closely you stuck to and succeeded in that plan. In tech, and probably most other industries as well, that can be fatal. Publishing a goal is a little less fatal since it doesn't outline a series of steps toward reaching that goal and allows you flexibility to pivot. Assuming of course that you didn't phrase your goal in the form of a plan or get too specific or detailed.

freddyc 10y ago

From personal experience 5 year goals/plans can help to give you a very broad outlook on where you want to get to, but be prepared to tear them up every 2-3 years ;) When I look back to 2011 I'd never have guessed that I would be where I am, doing what I do, today. I'm confident I'll be able to say the same in 2021. My parents grew up with the "one-company-for-life" mentality, but I'm a firm believer that it's good to mix things up every few years to keep yourself fresh and motivated. That's not to say you should abandon something that you're truly passionate about if you continue to derive long-term enjoyment from it, but rather be open and flexible to new opportunities as they may take you places you'd never imagine.

nibs 10y ago

Visualize what you want from life. Move towards your vision.

20years 10y ago

I have never made a 5 year plan and looking back over the past 15 years of my business, I am thankful I didn't. At least in my business, there has been a significant cycle that seems to happen about every 2 years. Meaning a big change happened, the landscape changed, situations changed which forced us to have to react and change very quickly. A 5 year plan or even a 2 year plan would have killed the business long ago. That similar trend has shown up in my personal life too, although not as often.

mch82 10y ago

> the general outline of a five-year plan A general outline is useful to have. A useful four-year plan is kind of like "graduate from college". Lots of room for improvisation along the way, but the ability to measure if life is headed in the direction you want to be headed. In practice, I've found it impossible to follow a plan beyond two years due to external factors (friends and co-workers move, industries change, laws change, deaths, etc.). Those external factors seem to speed up with age. However, having a "general outline" (like waypoints on a journey) helps to correct course or select an alternate path when those inevitable changes happen.

bbctol 10y ago

Goals are important. Actions are important. Plans are debatable. If every day, you're taking actions that will help you achieve your goals, you'll probably turn out okay.