Monday 20th May 2019
Teleology can be defined as a structured method of planning that studies every component and process of a plan right down to its fundamentals. A telescope usually consists of a small eye piece (the origin), a lengthy part (process), important points along the length (hubs or linkages) and the larger front end which allows light to enter (the objective). Essential planning must intrinsically study a plan from the objective (complete form) right down to the origin of its components (smallest parts) pausing to study every hub or linkage in the plan. This is teleogical planning. For example, if a road is being built from Roma to Kabulonga in Lusaka, a simple plan may entail grading and laying a tarred surface between the two locations. However, a teleological plan will entail carefully studying the objective of a complete fully functioning road, every component or hub relevant to it. Hubs in this planning will be the drainage system, transport system (bus stops), speed humps near schools, filling stations, traffic signs, traffic lights, road maintenance after the project is complete, safety, equipment, work site requirements and so on. Each one of these represents a hub that is linked to the project. Teleological planning may also have to be applied to each hub to ensure that the end result is as close to the best possible result as is humanly possible. Teleological planning will not always account for every need or eventuality however, it will ask enough questions to ensure a higher level of effectiveness for a plan.
Support planning’s role is also to persistently identify how anything being implemented could be done more efficiently and how an employee can be assisted in such a way that any weakness is bridged. This is done without being an evaluation [of your staff that makes them feel ineffectual], but a methodology that smoothens out any kinks in working efficiency of capital and human factors, be they internal to the project or external. Support planning is second only to planning itself. Planning is the objective, implementation is the task to be carried out, support planning the key that gets the targets achieved.
[If you are not using support planning, you’re planning to fail. Support planning should be an institutional practice; your staff should get used to the idea experts are coming in to work with them and feel odd when this arrangement doesn’t occur. Your organisation does not know it all. Regardless of how great you may think it is. An institution should not be too proud or conceited to get help or be shown other ways of getting things done. Support planning states that if there are knowledge, role, behaviour, capacity or experience gaps in your organization’s committees, teams or departments then be brave and assertive enough to bring in temporary expert staff, people with the right exposure, skills and knowledge or consultants, even secondments from other organisations and so on, who can help the teams and departments in your institution to work with greater competency, confidence, expertise, efficacy and efficiency to achieve your goals.]
The Dilemma Encountered in National Planning
Planning has many advantages and a first rule of planning has to be observed and this is:
No amount of scarce or abundant resources will take the place of the planning required to put those resources to good and sustainable use.
Planning is therefore a necessary aspect of any level of economic development. Whether a nation is rich or poor, faced with a surplus or deficit, it still has to plan how to best utilise what it has or the hand it has been dealt.
However, when it comes to planning there are simple paradoxes to understand:
The 2nd Rule of Planning consists of two Planning Paradoxes
No amount of planning will take the place of the resources or financing required for the implementation of what has been planned.
[Basically, if you don’t have enough resources or financing, your plan will fail. Demand, scale-down, restrategise or find a way to ensure the resources you need will be in place for what you need to get done or it will not succeed.]
No amount of implementation will take the place of the resources or financing environment required for what is implemented to become sustainable.
Split Velocity Solutions Ltd 