Work Management: Best Practices in Planning and Scheduling the Work

Mount Pleasant Waterworks is a medium-sized utility with a strong work planning focus.

If you’ve ever felt like work is a chaotic mess of last-minute scrambles, constant interruptions, and never-ending to-do lists, you’re not alone. The secret to regaining control? Effective planning and scheduling. These two elements of work management are the backbone of productivity, efficiency, and keeping your sanity intact.

Planning vs. Scheduling: What’s the Difference?

Planning and scheduling often get lumped together, but they’re not the same thing. Think of it like this:

• Planning is figuring out what needs to be done and how it should be done.

• Scheduling is deciding when it needs to happen and who is responsible for making it happen.

Without planning, scheduling is just throwing darts in the dark. Without scheduling, planning is just a bunch of great ideas with no execution. You need both.

Why Bother with Planning?

Some might think planning is just a bureaucratic time waster, but it actually saves you time, money, and frustration in the long run. Here’s why:

• It helps demonstrate the need for more people or resources.

• It ensures you’re covering your bases (aka, CYA – Cover Your Assets).

• It keeps costs under control by preventing last-minute fixes and inefficiencies.

Simply put, planning is like having a roadmap instead of wandering aimlessly and hoping for the best.

How Many Planners Do You Need?

If you think one person can plan for an entire organization, think again. The ideal ratio is one planner per 14 to 18 technicians. That way, you have enough coverage without overwhelming a single person.

Planners Do Not…

Let’s clear up a common misconception: planners do not:

• Schedule the work.

• Order or kit parts.

• Manage subcontracts.

• Perform quality control as their primary role.

30 days Ahead

Planners focus on creating detailed job plans that allow work to happen smoothly. Their job is to think ahead so technicians can spend less time scrambling and more time getting things done.

Normally planners are looking 30 days ahead of when the work needs to get done. They meet with supervisors and schedulers the week preceding the work.  If planners spend more than a fraction of their time in the current week, you are doing it wrong!

Who Should You Hire as a Planner?

This might surprise you, but your best technician is often the best candidate for a planner role. They have the hands-on knowledge and experience to create realistic, effective plans. Ideally, look for someone who is:

• A trained planner.

• An experienced technician.

• CMRP (Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional) or CMRT (Certified Maintenance & Reliability Technician) certified.

The hardest part? Convincing your organization to promote one of its best technicians off the front line. But in the long run, having an experienced planner can make a world of difference in work efficiency.

How to Apply Planning in the Real World

Start small. Take a basic task—like replacing a valve or meter—and create a job plan for it.

This should include:

• The number of steps involved.

• How much procurement is needed.

• The estimated time required.

• The level of cooperation needed between teams.

How Long Does Planning Take?

The “Rule of Five” applies here:

• 1 planner will be excellent.

• 3 planners will be adequate.

• 1 planner will struggle.

In other words, don’t overload your planners and expect miracles. Proper planning takes time and attention to detail. It’s an ongoing process, and as Robert Earl Keen said, “The road goes on forever and the journey never ends.”

Keep the End in Mind

The goal is to spend more time doing and less time figuring out what to do next.

JD Solomon Inc Provides Practical Solutions

Work management isn’t about fancy spreadsheets or overcomplicating things—it’s about making work easier and more efficient. With proper planning and scheduling, you can turn chaos into clarity, reduce stress, and get more done with fewer headaches.

Take a step back, plan ahead, and set yourself up for success. Your future self will thank you!

Why You Should Talk to Every Board Member the Same Way—And How to Do It

 If you want the board’s approval, speak to all of them, not just some of them.

When you're presenting to a board of directors, it’s tempting to adjust your approach based on who you think holds the most power. Maybe you focus on the CEO because they make the final call, or you tailor your message to the finance expert because they love the numbers. But here’s the thing—every board member has a vote, a voice, and a perspective that matters.

The Consequences

If you overlook someone, you risk losing their buy-in, which can slow down or even derail your idea.

Consistent Clarity is Key

So, how do you talk to everyone in the same way? The key is consistent clarity—giving everyone the same level of information, in a way that’s accessible to all.

One effective technique is framing your message around shared goals. Instead of catering to individual interests, structure your communication around what unites them—like company growth, risk management, or long-term strategy.

An Example

Instead of saying:  "Since we’re discussing financials, let me address the CFO on this point…”

Try: "This decision impacts both financial stability and long-term innovation, so let’s break it down from both angles.”

This keeps the whole board engaged and ensures that no one feels left out or undervalued.

The Benefit

When you communicate evenly, you foster collaboration and show respect for the collective wisdom in the room. And when board members feel included, they’re more likely to support you.

Bottom line? If you want the board’s approval, speak to all of them, not just some of them.

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Communicating with FINESSE is the not-for-profit community of technical professionals dedicated to being highly effective communicators and facilitators. Visit our Tackle Shop for communication and facilitation resources. Join the community for free.

High-Stakes Presentations: Are You Missing These 3 Key Communication Approaches?

Traditional communication approaches miss these three elements for high-stakes presentations.

Most communication training focuses on persuasion and audience engagement. However, this approach usually falls short when it comes to big decisions. In this insight, we will share three shocking communication strategies that will transform the way you communicate when the stakes are high.

Communication Approaches for High-Stakes Presentations

We need a specific approach for effectively communicating issues involving high levels of complexity and uncertainty. Without an approach, our focus is too high in the clouds or too low as we move through the forest from tree to tree. FINESSE provides a proven approach to big presentations and big decisions.

Three Shocking Communication Strategies

What three things are often debated in every training session I conduct? The same three make the FINESSE approach for big decisions different from more general communications strategies.

1. The Data Comes First, Not the Audience

Most communication training teaches us to be persuasive. That means the needs of the audience come first. Most communication training is also aimed at one (or a limited number) of contacts with the audience.

The issue with big decisions is that they are filled with complexity and uncertainties. Big decisions also take a long time to make. They pass through a number of gatekeepers and special committees. The decision maker's inner circle is also involved.

Big decisions do not happen fast. And the data and information change throughout deliberation.

Most technical professionals don't have a lot of communications training. We seem to be stuck on many of the buzzwords (or buzz concepts) when it comes to soft skills. Staying true to what you know about the data and information at all times and at all tides is a tough concept for many. Remember, the most important thing for a technical professional is their credibility – and we only get one shot at it.

2. You Should Not Care About the Decision

In response to this, I am often told, "But I am the technical expert. If I am supposed to have an opinion. They hire me to make the decision on my expertise!"

There's a lot to unpack here. However, it usually starts with the rebuttal that comes back as a statement, not a question. People who launch in with statements are dug in.

The salient point is that you should have an opinion, but our role as technical professionals is not to make the decision. It is to be a trusted advisor.

Hopefully, no one is providing their decision maker with potential solutions that are not viable. There are usually multiple viable solutions, and even when not, there are various approaches related to timing, sequencing, and phasing.

This suite of possibilities is called a Business Case Evaluation. As technical professionals, we provide the list of possibilities and probabilities.

The decision maker makes the choice (the decision). Whether it’s the best or most optimal choice is not our concern, as long as the solutions we present are all viable. Remember, big decisions are tricky because they contain a lot of complexity and uncertainty. No one – not even the technical professional – can perfectly forecast an uncertain future.

3. Start with the Conclusions

The source of this controversy is two-fold, at best. First, we are taught by cumulative learning from kindergarten through post-secondary education. Second, as technical professionals, we use a cumulative process called the Scientific Method. As technical professionals, we kind of have “building to a conclusion” baked into us.

The worst sources of starting with the conclusion are more concerning. The first is usually related to the need to be important at a team level. It manifests in statements like, "They need to understand how hard we worked" or "They need to understand all of the things we had to consider."

The second more concerning issue at the individual level. This issue manifests itself in statements like, "This is one of the few opportunities I have in front of the decision maker" or "If I tell them everything upfront, then they will not want to hear everything I have to say."

In business, time is money, and attention spans are short. Communicating in business starts downhill – with the end and then letting the decision maker ask their questions if needed.

JD Solomon’s FINESSE Fishbone Diagram

The FINESSE fishbone diagram® is a game-changer for tackling communication issues related to big decisions. The fishbone (or cause-and-effect) diagram identifies the critical factors and categorizes relevant tips under each bone.

By dissecting problems into manageable chunks, it’s easier to pinpoint where things go wrong and implement targeted solutions. The FINESSE fishbone diagram® is a roadmap for clearer communication, whether in a boardroom or when explaining complexities and uncertainties with a team of senior managers.

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JD Solomon served in executive leadership roles at two Fortune 500 companies before starting JD Solomon, Inc., just before the pandemic. JD is the founder of Communicating with FINESSE®, the creator of the FINESSE fishbone diagram®, and the co-creator of the SOAP criticality method©. He is the author of Communicating Reliability, Risk & Resiliency to Decision Makers: How to Get Your Boss’s Boss to Understand and Facilitating with FINESSE: A Guide to Successful Business Solutions.