I. Introduction

Planning for routine work is not easy at all because the context that helps constituting a routine work may have been changed. The danger of preconception on the presumption of being a routine work is even more true in a fast changing environment. You are guaranteed to have surprised changing conditions and the only way you can master the challenge is to cultivate a protective governance mentality through discovery-driven planning. That is, you can only accomplish things through constantly discovering and uncovering of a continuous unfolding process. Namely, not the heresay, not rationalized theories, not related professional, but self-checked, self-verified matching conditions, can help you accomplish your goals and mission.

In this instructional writeup, I am going to use a hypothetical example to illustrate the thought process that had gone into a discovery-driven planning. Through the thought process you will also get the products you want: constructing

1. A reverse income statement for the next 10 yeard
2. A pro forma operation specification
3. A key assumption checklist, and
4. A milestone planning chart.
Also I will use websites and other information to substantiate some of the assumptions and milestones specified in the writeup.

II. Biography / history and vision

Note that if you are writing about an organization, than you should describe the organizational biography, i.e., the history of that organization.

Bruce Lee, BL for short, is a high school graduate from Hong Kong. BL is from a very poor family and thus becoming a rich and powerful person is the essential goal of his life. One of his long term models is Chinese founder of Yahoo and one of his short term models is a successful Oracle DBA of his neighbor who is now working in Chicago earning more than 100K a year with a nice house in the suburb.

BL's vision: In 7 years he wants to become a successful oracle DBA like his neigbor and in 15 years he wants to be a CEO managing the world's biggest knowledge company. In this writeup, we will concentrate on the first 7 years and how BL protectively control his life journey to reach the short term goal. If you care to do it, we will leave you  the second part of discovery-driven planning. But it will be more fun that you choose an area that you would like to visualize and strategize for your own journey / your group collaborative journey.
 

III. Initial Sketch of the Journey

Initial Milestone Planning Chart: Backward reasoning starting from the desired goal.
1. A Database Administrative Technical Specialist highly seeked by the Executive Search Companies (aka, head hunters)
2. Received at least two of the following certificate Oracle DBA certificate, SAP certificate, CMSE, CNE, ...
3. Have three years as UNIX, Database Technical Support Personnel
4. Gear up to be hired by the best campus recruiter, or in the Chicagoland technical support job fair
5. Finished up MIS degree with the highest honor
6. Found an inexpensive, easy to have internship University in Chicago
7. Pass the TOFEL with the highest honor
8. Found Venture Capital from relatives for the startup fee.
Initial key assumption checklist: Parallel planning or reasoning from the initial milestone planning chart.
1. assuming that BL can pass the TOFEL with the highest honor
2. assuming that some of BL's poor relatives can squeeze just $2,000 US dollars knowing that Hong Kong, or perhaps, the entire Asian is in recession and the future is not that bright either
3. assuming that there is an inexpensive and easy to find internship university in Chicago
4. assuming that BL can get some financial support without getting trouble with U.S. immigrant office
5. assuming that BL like computer programming, can work efficiently with computers, and know how to manage team projects and coordinate easily failed UNIX systems with a knack
6. assuming that BL will be as competitive as his fellow classmates
7. assuming that the year BL graduate the job market is still in demand
8. assuming that Oracle will be still doing well or computer and e-commerce will be still the center of business attention
9. assuming that BL's university has enough reputation to attract good on-campus recruiters.
10. assuming that BL's have a good work environment so that he can learn the basic quickly from his coworkers and then is able to change job to another good work environment to expand his breadth and depth of the DBA profession
11. assuming that BL can figure the entire system configuration and develop a knack in solving system's problems quickly
12. assuming that BL is able to communicate difficult problem solving into an easy to understand writeup and presentations
13. assuming that BL has not only the technical knowledge but also the business knowledge and can create value constantly for the clients
14. assuming that BL develops a good relation with head hunters
15. assuming at this time SAP and new software will not make BL's knowledge obsolete
16. assuming that BL's can learn quickly and adapt to different and difficult environments easily
Initial pro forma operation specs: (stages are needed in order to specify different required operations)
1. stage 1
• Information processing and knowledge acquisition -- English, American culture, Universities around Chicago area, living expenses around Chicago area, initial barrier for an international students,
• persuasion - find out relative rich friends and relatives
• monitoring (on course / off course). Perhaps needed by all stages
• find out low cost providers, airplane tickets, necessities, ..
• goal focus: avoid wasting resource by doing too much with too little accomplishment; here and now; also foresight
2. stage 2
• find out financial aids
• create information networks
• create support networks
• find out job experience or internship opportunities
• monitor school work and make sure that there is no compromise between learning and good grade
• know work for current performance and work for transition, and knowledge for the next stage
3. stage 3
4. stage 4
Initial Income Statements
1. year 1
1. revenues:
2. expenses:
1. plane ticket $1000
2. tuition fee $9000
3. borrows
2. year 2
1. revenues:
2. expenses:
2. tuition fee $9000
3. borrows
3. year 3
1. revenues:
2. expenses:
1. tuition fee $9000
3. borrows
4. year 4
1. revenues:
2. expenses:
2. tuition fee $9000
5. year 5
1. revenues:
2. expenses:
6. year 6
1. revenues:
2. expenses:
7. year 7
1. good life; but poor fundation for the next big goal.

 IV. Step-wise Refinement (Substantiate assumptions and the Milestone Planning)

Universities around Chicago: easy. BL can go through the web sites from Hong Kong

TOFEL: what is the superior grades; how to prepare it; what are the demand of different schools
 

V. Crisis Consciousness: Treat every thing as problematic, rather than routine

VI. Conclusion

The pitfalls that come with sudden changes of conditions are everywhere. It is very important to uncover the hidden assumptions and constantly monitoring those assumptions for all the standard operating procedures we have set up to reach our goals and mission could have operated on the wrong plannet.