According to the old wise saying, failing to plan is planning to fail. And a well-executed plan, whether in sports, business, whatever, always has a positive benefit. You feel like Hannibal Smith, the cigar smoking character from the old “A-Team” TV series, when he said, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
But sometimes plans don’t come together as expected. Mike Tyson was one of the scariest heavyweight boxers in history. He was just 20 years old in 1987, when he became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. Tyson would just mow down his opponents with his fierce strength and power.
How do you face a boxer like Mike Tyson? How do you plan and prepare a strategy for such a contest? A reporter asked Tyson about what could be a possible plan for an opponent facing him in the ring. He replied, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” And many well-laid plans were abandoned after a few powerful punches from “Iron Mike” Tyson.
Boxing isn’t the only area when plans sometimes go astray. A plan may look good on a drawing board or a concept paper. But then the unexpected and harsh reality may change everything. The plan gets punched in the mouth.
This is also true on the battlefield and war. Helmuth von Moltke, a German general in World War I, stated, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” In other words, war plans do not often work out as planned.
The Battle of Moore’s Creek, which took place nearby in Pender County during the Revolutionary War, is an example. The battle, which celebrated its 250-year anniversary a couple of weeks ago, was an early turning point in the war. The British thought they could get many British sympathizers from the now Fayetteville area, called Loyalists, to join them in Wilmington to fight the Patriots. The plan was then control the south and then head north to quell the revolution.
But not as many Loyalists joined as expected, and they had to take another route to Wilmington to avoid the Patriots. (By the way, this route ran through Sampson County, and the old road they took came through our farm at Clement.) As the Loyalists headed toward Wilmington, they met the Patriot militia at the bridge at Moore’s Creek. The Patriots had removed planks from the bridge and greased the beams across it. On Feb. 27, 1776, during a quick battle, the Loyalists were soundly defeated. The British plan for a base of operation in Wilmington was shelved, and the war would be concentrated in the northern colonies.
So, especially in conflict, often things don’t go according to plan. Probably the most obvious recent example is Russia’s war in Ukraine. In February 2022, Russia launched a full scale attack on Ukraine. I’m sure their plan was to quickly take over the country. It seemed that it was inevitable, with Russia’s military strength. But here it is, four years later, and Russia only controls a small area of Ukraine, as the war drags on. I’m sure this is not what Putin and the Russian military planned.
Now it is the United States that is at war. The plan was to take advantage of the opportunity to finally get rid of the evil leadership in Iran that had been an opponent to the U.S. and the west for over 40 years. The plan was to quickly eliminate the leadership and much of the military, which we have mostly done. Then a new leadership would hopefully come about, more friendly and open to the U.S. and the west.
It sounds like a good plan, and our military has done a great job carrying out its assignment. But, it’s been three weeks, and Iran, though weakened, still hasn’t given up yet. The flow of oil from the Middle East has slowed dramatically, and the results can be seen here in the U.S., especially at the gas pump. I see it where the gas I buy is around a dollar more per gallon than it was before the bombing of Iran began.
I’m sure the plan before the war was not for huge gas price increases, along with its effects on the U.S. economy. (At least I hope so.) But it has happened. So what now? During World War II, General Dwight Eisenhower commented, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” As he led the Allies during the war, he was constantly having to makes strategy changes in the battlefield. In other words, have a plan, but be willing to adapt as the situation changes. Hopefully, our leadership will adapt to a situation that may not be going entirely as planned, and the positive changes hoped for will occur.
Yep, we all know that things don’t always work out as planned. Finally, just one more quote, this time from a country song that pretty much sums it up: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”