What makes a good planner? All in 140 characters please...

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Redscout’s SPUR video series is something of great interest to me and many others, I'm sure. Being a young planner "wannabe" it's interesting to see how experienced practitioners view the world of planning and how they think it will shape up in the future. I'm looking forward to future editions of the video series.  

Here's a something I found particularly interesting:

"Planning was conceived as the thinking behind creativity. But the conventional planner has become a caricature: thinking in an ivory tower and post-rationalizing the doing of others. But today – as the industry, agency, and world-at-large have evolved – the definition of planning, and its future, is unclear."

Building on this thought, I recently asked some planners on twitter for their views on "what makes a good planner?” all in 140 characters. All the responses that I recieve will be added to this blog post, as and when I recieve them.....

All other responses are also welcome :) 

.

Armano  "Curiosity, excellent communication skills, an analytical mind, creative spirit and the ability to detect and synthesize patterns"

markhadfield "A good Planner is being able to provide more than 1 answer to this question, but throwing out the wrong ones and keeping the best." "(and to always have the last word. ;-) )"

jasonlonsdale "A great planner should be the trusted provocateur: strategically robust yet creatively inspiring; laser-focused yet open-minded"

Will_Humphrey "A good planner has the same qualities as a chinese finger trap."

FamousRob  "There is rarely one 'correct' answer, but a great planner helps focus the thinking and creative work as close to it as possible."

katylindemann  "A good planner should be interested as well as interesting, have an insatiable curiosity, and able to make the complex appear simple."

theplanninglab "A respectable planner combines strategic + creative excellence, and a positive can-do attitude with as little bullshit as possible."

VicHoon "Speaking as someone who works for planners, the most successful ones are curious polymath critical thinkers with an ability to wing it."

Manuel Stolte "a good planner feels and thinks like consumers and has the lead in knowledge of human nature..."

GabrielRossi "Understanding that marketing is a way of thinking rather than just a set of tools. Planning is jut part of the equation."

tarik "Passionate by people and their behaviors. Not afraid to cut the crap and fancy to please the only one opinion that matters: Consumer’s"

paulisakson  " Furious curiosity, endless empathy, intelligent intuition, acute insightfulness and a fierce loathing for the status quo."

bud_caddell "A healthy ignorance of business as usual, little to no reverence for the past, and a desperate need to build the future."

johngriffiths7  "Someone who can find the shortest path between insight and execution and prevents egos getting in the way."

Adverplanner "Great Planners complete a rubik’s cube of trends, tech, insights & brand values so creatives can use it to create something amazing."

jo_vanna  "Curiosity, digging skills of a detective, love of anthropology, ability to see and make conceptual connections, love of learning."

faris  "Ask instead perhaps what planning is, and what makes it good. Then get really nice, really smart people and get them to do it."

chrisgallery "There are two kinds of people in advertising,those who simplify and those who complify. Good planners simplify,bad planners complify.Simple."

BenShaw  "Being able to look at every aspect of life and apply data, insight and creativity to blow peoples minds away with brilliant ideas."

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