The importance of Planning:- Briefing and Debriefing

     Since my early age, I've had teachers tell me : " Plan your work and work your plan". To be honest I have never been a big fan of the saying as I have always favored improvisation to a certain extent which leaves space for creativity. But throughout the years, I have learned to appreciate the importance of a good planning. Even more so now when having to communicate with a large group of individuals working at different levels of the organization especially when the work of a group is dependent on information gathered from other members. The order and timing at which information is collected and distributed becomes critical for the good running of the project.

   One of the first events of the project which required major planning was the video shoot of a music video which was shot on the rooftop of a luxurious hotel in the center of the island. The planning had to take into account the transport of the artists, the musical equipment, the location management, artistic director, make up artists, the team of videographers and photographers and the organizing team. After the running schedule was established , the relevant information had to be communicated to the various participants. This is where a formal briefing becomes crucial and it was conducted on the eve of the event. On the day itself, we found that another shorter briefing was necessary to make sure everyone was on the same wavelength. Although the event was successfully done, there are always some factors which needed to be taken care of to maximize our efficiency for the future. Thus a debrief session was organized and all feedback, whether positive or negative, were taken in consideration to work on and improve for the next time.

This particular experience has brought to light one very important factor about planning which i tended to neglect in the past; the attention to details. Its good to have the bigger picture but its the small things that make the difference. And its often during briefing and debriefing sessions that we have the opportunity to focus on the details.

So people " Plan your work and Work your plan.." and constantly brief and debrief for any event you may work on..

Yashdith Bachwa
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