I love this saying! "Your Failure to Plan Does Not Constitute an Emergency for Me!" My parents used to say this to me all the time, mainly because of my lack of responsibility. However, when I think about this saying in my current job, I cannot help but to think that this is so true. However, I am learning that this cannot always be enforced, especially when supervisors, managers, department heads, etc. promise to deliver things with extremely unreasonable timelines. Some people's behavioral type tend to overextend themselves, over-estimate their own abilities, and I am one of those. I remember a few years back when I was asked about a possible timeline of development for a particular set of courses. I stated that these 10 courses could be delivered in 6 months, and I actually believe they could have been. However, I did not take into effect the nature of the organization and the need for everyone and their brother's input, which pushed the timeline to the day after forever (of course, what are you going to say to the CEO when he is the volunteered assigned SME and is the one that delays things?).
In my current job, timelines are much more serious and less flexible. However, I am on a project where there is a colossal amount of chaos and disorganization, and I am not sure where the fault lies. And frankly, I am not one to ponder too much on fault. Instead I am concerned about the upcoming deadline, the bottlenecks, and the imminent crisis.