There are at least two ways to plan and get things done.
One way is to plot .
That is breaking everything that needs to get done into smaller and smaller
pieces and then manage your way towards the outcome.
The other way is to be ready .
When opportunities arise grab them, when they don't arise sit back and wait
for opportunities to arise.
Both ways need you to know, at a high level, where you would like to get to.
The first so you can plot the steps and the second so that you know which
opportunities to grab.
In 1998, author Richard Rumelt (
Good Strategy / Bad
Strategy
) met with Steve Jobs and pointing out that having only
one computer would consign Apple to a niche that they would never be able to
escape from, Rummelt asked Jobs, 'What is your long term strategy?'
Jobs didn’t attack his argument. Instead he smiled and said ‘I’m going to wait
for the next big thing’
Image source: http://goo.gl/rBWWYB