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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 6 (October 1, 1928)

[section]

I Don't care what your job is—or, if you like, what your position is—you must plan your work if you wish to get results.

The longer I live, the more people I meet who think planning out work on a chart a fine system. “Yes, very fine,” they say. “It tells you just where you are,” and so on; “but,” they usually add, “of course I don't need it, it wouldn't apply in my department.”

I could say things—sometimes I do—to the men who:

“Don't need any plans.”

“Who can keep it all in their heads.”

“Who know just how long everything should take.”

“Who know when everything should be finished.”

“Who have got everything going right.”

“Who make all their deliveries right when they promised to.”

“Whose costs are not excessive.”

The Chart described in concluding paragraph of accompanying article.

The Chart described in concluding paragraph of accompanying article.

Let me tell you that in all my experience on production work (and that dates definitely from the year 1909), I have never yet met one individual whose qualifications were such that he could “keep it all in his head” without planning. Oh, yes, I have met plenty who thought they were the perfect “IT,” and who knew, as I said before, that “it didn't apply to them.” But after a little analysis what do we always find? We find there is lost time between their jobs; that promises are not kept; excesses in the amounts charged; delays in starting work; the time a job takes is not known; and so forth. The wonderful house of cards comes tumbling down. It was a game of bluff.

What I want to have realised is this. The type of man referred to usually honestly thinks he does know. He undoubtedly does know something, but not all about it. There is not one of us who does not need all the assistance, of the right kind, he can get.