"Rigidity inevitably defeats itself, and the analysts who point to a changed detail as evidence of a plan's weakness are completely unaware of the characteristics of the battlefield." - Dwight Eisenhower
"The farther ahead we project, the less certain and detailed should be our design. We may plan the initial phase of a campaign with some degree of certainty, developing extensive functional and detailed plans. However, since the results of that phase will shape the phases that follow, subsequent plans must be increasingly general. The plan for future phases will be largely conceptual, perhaps consisting of no more than a general intent and several contingencies and options."
"Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." - Dwight Eisenhower
Planning forces you to consider all of your resources and liabilities as well as your enemy's center of gravity and critical vulnerabilities. But in the moment, a center of gravity can move or a new vulnerability may present itself and one's plans must change.
Those auditing the procedure critically may accuse the commander of failing to achieve each objective, but they fail to account for the fact that the overall battle plan and objective was achieved precisely by abandoning the earlier plan. You have to keep the overall goal in mind as you execute the orders. When things change, an eye on the end can help you adjust to real time, unpredictable developments that still lead you to the same end you planned from the git go. If you are more committed to seeing your plan go according to its blueprint, you may actually fail to achieve the overall objective in the process.
Mission determines method and methods must adapt in order to accomplish the mission.
Method must bow to mission.
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