Plans are important, they demonstrate  diagnostic skill. We suspect that’s why the Commission asked to see the agencies develop a plan. That said, let me tell you a story about the value of plans told to me by Gen. Bryan Brown (we had some things in common having had the same name), who was the Commanding officer of Special Operations Command (SOCOM) when I worked at the Department of Defense. 

The story goes something like this:

A platoon of soldiers during World War II was lost in the Alps. Overcome with fear and despair, they did little until an officer found a map. Emboldened by a sense of purpose, they rallied, worked together, hiked through dangerous mountainous terrain for days, and finally found their way to the safety of allied lines.

Upon safely making it back to command, they were asked how they managed to navigate back. The officer showed command the map they had found. It was at that moment command informed the officer that map was of the Pyrenees, not the Alps.

Plans are great – execution, judgment, and skill matters more. 

Let me share another story as to why.