The Powerful Eisenhower Insight Every Writer Needs

Who would have thought warfare and writing (and aviation too!) were somehow related?

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

In the aviation industry, there is this infamous joke:

— Hey, do you know how to become a millionaire in aviation?

— No, how?

— You start as a billionaire and get into aviation.

Truth is, losing money in aviation is as easy as waking up at dawn on Christmas morning when you’re five.

Certifying a new airplane, for example, requires thousands of flight hours, testing everything from engines to landing gear, each hour costing thousands of dollars.

Because of that, for every test, a thorough plan is essential. You take off with a precise agenda for the flight. There is no room for “let’s figure it out on the fly” — literally, in this case.

And, just as engineers and pilots don’t take off and goof around in the skies thinking about what to do next, we, as writers, shouldn’t simply start writing and try to figure out what to write next.

For each battle, a plan

“No battle was ever won according to plan, but no battle was ever won without one.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

There.

A flight test is a battle, as is any article you set out to write.

Listen to Eisenhower. Plan first, then execute.

Or do you want to spend hours, maybe days, and trash everything at the end because your cherished article became an amorphous blob that even you don’t understand anymore?

I know you don’t.

Now, will everything happen according to the plan? As Eisenhower said, no.

You’ll have to adapt. In flight tests, it’s not uncommon to make adjustments during the flight due to unpredicted events. But just as an engine test won’t turn into a landing gear test, your piece on the importance of habits shouldn’t morph into an article on calorie counting.

Adjust as necessary, but stick to the overall plan.

No need to be fancy

Take this article, for example. Its plan (outline — or structure, if you prefer) was as simple as:

1. Introduce the importance of planning in aviation, where mistakes can be costly.
2. Draw a parallel with writing: executing a flight test mirrors writing an article — they both involve battles.
3. Conclude by outlining the plan for this article itself and including a call to action.

See?

Make a plan, man.