Edu: Startup Planning — Follow the Ten Commandments w/ Oliver Heckmann

Good plans often make the difference between success and failure. Yet so many organisations are filled with time-consuming, ineffective, demoralising planning processes that have everybody muttering “waste of time” under their breath.

Fear not! We have very special guest Oliver Heckmann—Head of Engineering at Silicon Valley darling Coda and former Google VP—to help set you up for good planning! In this episode, Oliver talks through his “Ten Commandments of Good Planning”. These commandments have been honed through years of hands-on work helping organisations deliver value. Oliver is one of the very best… you don’t want to miss this one.The Ten Commandments of Good Planning

1. Thou shalt plan both top-down and bottom-up

2. Thou shalt not plan for the future without reflecting on the past

3. Thou shalt not blindly copy someone else’s tool or process

4. Thou shalt not spread planning information across different places

5. Thou shalt not plan in a separate place than you execute

6. Thou shalt not confuse Goals with Stretch Goals

7. Thou shalt not waste time on success metrics when success is obvious, or rush success metrics when success is not obvious

8. Thou shalt not etch your plans in stone

9. Thou shalt spend no more than 10% of your time planning

10. Thou shalt not confuse OKRs with strategy or vision

Episode Links

• Oliver Heckmann on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-heckmann-a173082/

• Email Oliver to talk planning and OKRs at your organisation: oheckmann@coda.com

• Oliver’s template for hackathons, ideations, awards, and more: https://coda.io/@oliverheckmann

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