Plans
Plans own how and who.
A plan is the bridge between a chosen priority and changed reality. It turns a why-now decision into sequenced work, named agents of change, proof signals, and review points.
Do not ask a plan to choose the problem. Do not ask a plan to prove the potential is worth it. Do not ask a plan to rank all competing bets. Those jobs happen upstream.
Decision Ladder
Use the ladder in order:
| Layer | Owns | Question |
|---|---|---|
| Problems | Good vs bad | Is this the right gap to solve? |
| Potential | Risk vs reward | What upside opens, and what downside must be protected? |
| Priorities | When and why | Should this win scarce attention now? |
| Plans | How and who | What bridge gets built, and which agents of change carry it? |
Plan Shape
A useful plan names:
- Outcome: what changes in reality.
- Bridge: the smallest path from current state to desired state.
- Agents of change: the humans, teams, AI agents, tools, systems, or institutions that carry each move.
- Sequence: what happens first, next, and last.
- Proof: what signal shows the bridge is holding.
- Review: when to continue, adjust, stop, or hand off.
Agents Of Change
An agent of change is any actor that can move the system:
- a person with judgment;
- a team with authority;
- a software agent with a bounded job;
- a product surface that changes behavior;
- a process, incentive, or institution that makes the right action easier.
Plans fail when they describe tasks but do not name who or what has the power to carry them. A task without an agent is a wish.
Quality Test
Before a plan reaches action, ask:
- Does it follow from the chosen priority?
- Is the first move small enough to start?
- Are the agents of change named?
- Does each agent have a clear job and constraint?
- Is the proof signal visible before too much time or cost is spent?
- Is there a review point that can change the plan?
Zoom Out
- Upstream: Priorities - when and why.
- Upstream: Potential - risk and reward.
- Upstream: Problems - good and bad gaps.
- Measure: Scoreboard - whether the plan changed reality.
- System: Systems - loops that make plans repeatable.
Questions
- What is the smallest bridge that could prove the priority?
- Who or what is the agent of change for each move?
- What signal would tell us to keep going, change course, or stop?