I am a firm believer that planning always accounts for at least 60% of the effort  and duration associated with any successful initiative .  In this context the term  initiatives represents the work to deal with a particular problem or for achieving a particular purpose.  

Initiatives require a plan and if not formally developed, documented and used, both the effectiveness and duration of the initiative are negatively impacted.

Building a plan.

In its simplest form planning entails determining what needs to be done, priority, timing, dependencies and resources.  Plans predict outcomes and since the predictions can be influenced by many factors changing plans as work progresses is normal.

(Only magicians with crystal balls that work magically don’t have this need for changes).

Without a plan it is impossible to measure how effectively the work is being completed.  For those that don’t like planning this is a key benefit, it is hard to be held accountable.

The fact accountbility becomes subjective is good for those responsible for the work, not so much for those expecting superior outcomes.

Making Decisions

The most important benefit associated with plans is actually not how efficiently work can be done (as opposed to chaotic progress) but rather the ability to make good decisions.

The questions, should we do this or that or even undertake this initiative at all can be well informed by predicting what it takes to do it.

Of course comparing the effort and duration associated with different options can be a really good start to determining the best option.