Quick Answer
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Business plans die because they take too long to create, aren't connected to operations, and require manual effort to update. AI solves all three: faster creation, automatic metric connection, and continuous updates.
Key Takeaways:
- Plan death is predictable and preventable
- Disconnection from operations is the primary killer
- Manual update requirements doom most plans
- AI automation changes the planning economics
Playbook
Acknowledge past plans that became shelfware
Identify why they stopped being useful
Design new plan with those failure modes in mind
Connect plan directly to operational metrics
Automate everything that can be automated
Build review rhythm into regular operations
Measure plan utility, not plan completeness
Common Pitfalls
- Creating elaborate plans 'because investors want them'
- Separating planning from operating rhythm
- Building plans that require heroic effort to maintain
- Blaming discipline for what is actually bad design
Metrics to Track
Plan consultation frequency
Days since last meaningful update
Decisions traced to plan guidance
Plan-to-reality accuracy over time
FAQ
Why do business plans become shelfware?
Three main reasons: they take too long to create (so updates feel daunting), they're not connected to daily operations (so consulting them feels irrelevant), and they require manual maintenance (which never happens).
How can AI prevent plan death?
AI generates and updates plans faster, automatically connects plan assumptions to actual metrics, and flags when plans diverge from reality. It removes the friction that kills plans.
What should I do with dead plans from the past?
Mine them for learning: what assumptions were wrong? What should you have tracked? Then design a simpler, automated plan that addresses those failure modes.
Related Reading
Next: browse the hub or explore AI Operations.