The speed at which life moves these days does not lend itself well to the type of planning we did 10 years ago (or even 5). It's the difference between steering the Queen Mary and steering a speedboat! There is an element of planning that is possible, but not in a detailed fashion. You have to build in chaos and opportunity!

agree with victory above, it's about enjoying journey. I don't know if they'll ever get it right and teach that in schools, not even 20 years from now. I think free online education for entrepreneurship post highschool will become more popular and teach what you are talking about. 5 stars to you Melissa! see ya there.

and so much hype around web 2.0 everything and social networks... hard to know what is really effecting things. a lot of old school methods are still prevailing for the majority. it's mostly the young crowd and tech geeks who are adopting this stuff and having it change their lives.

As George Carlin said, "There is no present, just the immediate past and the upcoming future"

At the age of 65, I think my father is part of a dying breed. The guys who made an entire career at one company. Thankfully, for him and outr family, he loved what he did but he always wanted more for my brother and I. But even he had companies bought and sold out from under him. He was just lucky enough to be able to stay in his own field, which he enjoyed.

I believe that kind of career planning can't possibly exist anymore. How can it? And now that tech chagnes so blindingly fast, I gotta go with Victory. Just enjoy the ride and do the best with what you can comprehend as you go. I think I mixed in a little DeBorah there, too.

it's all about the "fake it till ya make it" hype in the web 2.0 universe with social marketing and viral etc. it's hype but it's real. .......as far as new models, you either build a system that has adaptation/evolution built into it... like automatic updating via crowdsourcing, or you die. Perpetual beta, man, it's what it's all about!

Life moves on at a change rate like never before! We adapt as best we can. Yet somethings don't change, and I hope in our chase to be leading edge, we don't forget the basics that make people great, or the things that rip them apart.
Embrace today while not forgetting the fundamentals!!

Definitely! Life moves fast these days because of technology which we have become dependent on and to keep up means to remain open minded, teachable and positive about where it's taking you. I think the thing in between the old paradigm and today's pace, is knowing one's Self, one's Purpose, one's Mission and all that is reliant upon knowing one's Values. With these tools it is not so difficult to move ahead with the rest of the world. As we mature/age, learning and keeping up with technology does become more challenging but if you are attentive to what it all means: ONE WORLD WITH ONE HUMAN RACE GETTING TO KNOW IT'S SELF as it evolves, one finds motivation to keep moving ahead, although, it is not always imperative for everyone to do. Some of the speed of change is just a perspective of the mature watching the youth do what they do ... smiling ... I think this has always been true!

Stanlee, You said it perspective is key. The thing that made me really see this differently was when Nova Spivack mentioned how the internet had changed the way we see ourselves, not just as a people, but as individuals. I just have never thought of it that way. How has technology redefined business, you, me, us? I just don't think most people's minds have caught up to the idea that it's truly a time when anything is indeed possible and with that comes an attitude that looks like "devil may care" but it's really just the way the world works.

i'm back... forgot your 5 stars! ;)

Hi Melissa, I love Daniel Pink's perspective on this. In his seminar he talks about how colleges train you to climb up the corporate ladder. His experience was mine. When I was a kid I wanted to go to film school. We used to shoot movies with the 8mm camera with all the neighborhood kids playing different parts. Of course, when I got to high school, my dad, who is an engineer, dissuaded me from that course. He said, "You'll never get a job doing that!" So I went to engineering school and then on the an MBA at Pepperdine. All good stuff. Great left brain thinking. But I am more of a creative soul, so after about 5 years in the building airplanes for living, I just quit and decided to do what I loved. Through a lot of trial and error, I've done pretty well. No drudgery in a 9-5 here. Everyday is new and not always easy but I wouldn't do it any other way.

I wonder what percentage of the population can live with that sort of uncertainty?

i'm down with creating a new exciting future of the unplanned life! not only is it more fun, but with the internet economy, change (constant change) is of the essence!

@andy We just interviewed Dan Pink yesterday for the film we're making about this same subject! He said ambiguity is just going to be part of doing business in this new "experiential economy". But I do wonder how many people are going to sink and how many will float. My feeling is that the millenials will do just fine, it's already the world they live in, but the Gen Xers and older may have some real trouble. Hehe, some philanthropist should get all us old folks some life coaches to help us to the other side of being ok with ambiguity!

Melissa, that's what I'm thinking now after talking to Scott Degraffenreid about Millenials... the genX may think they're lazy but it doesn't matter, genY is already on it's way to being the new rulers whether they learn to understand eachother or not.

I vote yes on this topic. Marketing plans, web site planning, forecasting etc etc etc is so ingrained in how we approach our business. It would be great to question this and view planning from a fresh perspective. Planning 2.0!