Planning

All too often in the business world managers are spending a majority of time fighting fires in their departments or areas of responsibility. The approach of many of these managers is reactive instead of proactive, and for many stepping back from a situation and planning an attack instead of jumping in immediately is difficult. The difference between these managers and more experienced and successful managers is the ability to see a bigger picture and more detailed perspective to an issue. This type of planning is something that everyone can develop through continual usage and learning but must be done with a firm belief in a strong ethical system. This is exactly the type of behavior Johnson & Johnson demands company-wide. It begins with a basic understanding of planning, continues through effective ethical standards and finishes with learning and further planning for the future.

The first step of any project is to decide to attack it but doing so without a plan can only lead to disaster. When starting to plan for any undertaking, it is best to remember the following: 1) The largest benefit of planning comes from the process itself. A manager needs to learn how to work with and listen to the team around him or her; 2) The truest fact a manager will obtain is that there is no perfect plan. Learning from the process and growing with the results is the best path to future success; 3) The planning process is a small-step process that builds on itself and may include everyone from the CEO to the person hired that day; 4) Things are never as bad as they seem or as good as one would like. Learn from what happens and grow accordingly; 5) Start simple, but start! The only true way to start on a path to success is to take the first step, no matter how scary it may seem. (McNamara n.d.).

The second biggest factor a manager needs to consider when undertaking a planning initiative, especially when he or she is just beginning to learn the ropes, is how the endeavor being undertaken will be viewed ethically. Ethics is simply learning what is right or wrong then doing the right thing for the company, society, and those within both. The problem lies in the fact that ethical situations are not the cut and dry type and need to be analyzed from many angles. One of the best examples of handling a touchy situation with superb ethical standards comes from Bob Kniffin, Vice President of External Affairs, at Johnson & Johnson Company. In 1982, seven people in Chicago died after taking extra-strength Tylenol, a leading pain-killer medicine, that had been laced with cyanide by an unknown offender. The tampering had occurred after the product had reached shelves. Tylenol took a major