Idea · carried by 1 source
Plans Are Worthless, Planning Is Everything
Dmitry Zlokazov's favorite life motto, attributed to Eisenhower: the specific plan will always be wrong, but the act of planning — thinking many steps ahead, considering contingencies, understanding the landscape — is what matters. This principle underpins Revolut's approach of maintaining flexibility while still having a clear roadmap.
Where it comes from
Dmitry Zlokazov on Lenny's Podcast (highlights/zlokazov-revolut-pms): “Plans are worthless but planning is everything.” He attributes this to Eisenhower. [~57:12-57:14]
How it works
- Being flexible and agile is important, but “it doesn't allow us to actually not have a plan at all”
- You must “always think many steps ahead”
- While being flexible, “we also need to think things thoroughly”
- At Revolut, this manifests in:
- Product owners contribute to high-level strategy (the planning)
- Then execute relentlessly on the plan while adapting (because the plan itself is worthless)
- Weekly reviews provide course correction without abandoning the planning process
The value of planning isn't the plan itself — it's the mental model you build of the landscape, the contingencies you've considered, and the strategic clarity you've developed through the process.