The Korean War was planned to last only a few days so we did not plan anything in case things might go wrong. If you plan a war without planning for failures then you are asking for trouble
Yoo Sung Chul
North Korean general
1950
Well hello!!
I hope this is news only to the war planners at work in North Korea in the spring of 1950. (I threw in the date to refresh the memory of those who have forgotten the "forgotten war")
Most projects aren't war; not remotely close. But all projects have one thing in common with war: uncertainty. And, to plan a project without planning for failures seems as nonesensical as General Yoo's statement.
Which is another way of saying: a plan without slack is a hope, but not a plan.
If you have forgotten Korea (1950-1953), an excellent telling is in the 2007 book "The Coldest Winter" by notable author David Halberstam
