Chapter 11 – Planning – The Creation Process
Planning
The Creation Process
From Concept to Implementation
Planning – the systematic development of actionable steps to achieve desired outcomes—transcends mere ideation. While ideas require only thought, planning demands sequenced implementation pathways leading to concrete results.
Consider the complexity behind preparing a simple vegetable meal starting from cultivation. The gardener must prepare appropriate soil, select suitable seeds, plant at proper depths, establish watering schedules, apply fertilizers, monitor growth, remove competitive weeds, protect against diseases and pests, harvest at optimal ripeness, process for consumption, and finally prepare the meal – each step depending on previous actions and requiring specific tools, knowledge, and timing. This complex sequence illustrates a fundamental planning principle: comprehensive outcomes demand structured, sequential approaches—a principle nowhere more evident than in Creation itself.
Effective managers must provide perspective beyond immediate concerns. As Rabbi Elijah taught, humans should approach divine teachings like oxen take their yokes – faithfully working each day without necessarily seeing immediate results. The manager’s perspective resembles the farmer who understands how daily plowing eventually yields harvest, even when workers perform seemingly repetitive tasks (Kranc, 2004).
Planning serves as the primary evaluation mechanism for managerial effectiveness. Successful managers articulate clear, compelling strategies and maintain implementation focus. The Bible abounds with planning examples – military campaigns, Joseph’s famine preparation, Noah’s ark construction, Joshua’s conquest strategy, and the detailed sanctuary specifications. Yet none surpasses the grandeur of Creation itself as the ultimate planning case study.
The Creation Narrative
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day….
Genesis 1:31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. So there was evening, and there was morning, a sixth day.
Strategic Planning in Creation
At first glance, the divine creation sequence might appear random. Should celestial bodies have preceded other elements? Yet closer examination reveals sophisticated planning logic. The progression from light to firmament to vegetation to celestial bodies to aquatic creatures to land animals and finally humans follows biological dependency chains—each creation element supporting subsequent developments.
While some argue that divine omnipotence eliminates planning necessity, this perspective misunderstands planning’s foundational purpose. Even master artists approach creation differently – some with detailed blueprints, others evolving concepts during implementation, still others finding inspiration within materials themselves. Similarly, whether the Creation represents a meticulously pre-designed divine plan or inspired development matters less than the evident sequential structure guiding implementation.
Many businesses operate successfully without formal written plans – relying on owners’ intuitive frameworks. However, documented plans provide critical advantages: clarifying direction, enabling feedback integration, identifying overlooked factors, and coordinating collaborative implementation. Though divine action requires no external validation, the Creation narrative demonstrates systematic implementation that applies directly to organizational planning.
The Lord’s methodical approach – creating earth before sunlight, vegetation before animals to ensure food availability, and humans last in the sequence – reveals careful dependency management. This sequential progression prevented developmental gaps or resource deficiencies. The implementation phase then incorporated delegation, with Adam assigned animal-naming responsibility (Genesis 2:20) – highlighting that even perfect plans benefit from delegated implementation components.
Like modern product launches, the Creation appeared flawlessly designed, tested, manufactured, and deployed. Yet even perfect plans encounter implementation variables. The consumption of forbidden fruit required divine crisis management – determining rule enforcement approaches, developing appropriate consequences, and establishing protective measures preventing Garden reentry. This situation demonstrates the essential planning principle that contingency frameworks must anticipate potential deviations from primary plans.
Planning Patterns and Frameworks
The Creation narrative reveals sophisticated structural patterns. Light (day one) parallels celestial lights (day four); water and sky separations (day two) mirror aquatic and aerial creatures (day five); land emergence (day three) corresponds with land creatures and humans (day six). This deliberate patterning suggests intentional design framework rather than spontaneous development.
Professor Gary Rendsburg of Rutgers University observes that Creation represents systematic development from chaos to order (Rendsburg, 2006). He notes dual complementary perspectives – Genesis 1 describing creation through divine verbal declaration while Genesis 2 details physical implementation methods. This duality reflects the biblical theme of heaven engaging earth and earth reaching toward heaven.
Genesis 2:4 articulates this dual perspective: “Here is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created. On the day when ADONAI, God, made earth and heaven.” The deliberate word-order reversal (heaven-earth becoming earth-heaven) suggests complementary implementation approaches. The initial phase represents top-down planning – establishing vision, direction, and framework. The secondary phase introduces bottom-up implementation – empowering creation components with development potential.
This balanced approach enables human striving without presuming sovereignty (unlike the Tower of Babel builders). Modern organizations similarly benefit from complementary planning approaches – strategic vision guiding operational implementation while feedback mechanisms enable adaptive refinement.
Planning with Passion and Purpose
Plans without passion generate minimal motivation. The Creation account demonstrates the importance of enthusiasm and milestone celebration. Throughout implementation, the Lord repeatedly acknowledged achievements – “the light was good” (Genesis 1:4), the sea-land separation was “good” (1:10), vegetation was “good” (1:12), celestial bodies were “good” (1:18), aquatic creatures were “good” (1:21), and land animals were “good” (1:25). Upon completion, the Lord declared everything “very good” (1:31).
This progression demonstrates three critical planning principles:
- Establishing evaluation standards before implementation
- Conducting regular milestone assessments during execution
- Maintaining implementation momentum through achievement recognition
Without clear standards, how could the Creator judge each element “good” or determine when overall implementation was “very good”? Each development phase required successful completion before proceeding – preventing cascade failures where subsequent phases depend on previous achievements.
The Creator’s willingness to acknowledge accomplishment – privately at first, then ultimately sharing satisfaction in the final “very good” declaration – teaches managers the importance of both personal pride in achievement and public recognition of collective contributions. Modern organizations often neglect milestone celebration, yet this practice maintains momentum, reinforces commitment, and strengthens implementation determination.
Documentation and Communication
Effective planning requires comprehensive documentation. Unrecorded plans become vulnerable to misinterpretation or forgetfulness. The Creation narrative’s documentation established both historical record and implementation roadmap – covering not only mission (potentially divine glorification) but also detailed operational procedures, including specific prohibitions with clearly communicated consequences.
The Tree of Knowledge prohibition likely represented policy rather than primary purpose – establishing guidelines with defined enforcement provisions. The Lord expressly warned that consumption would result in death (Genesis 2:17). This specific operational directive resembles workplace safety protocols – documented, clearly communicated regulations designed for protection rather than arbitrary restrictions.
This documentation aspect potentially reveals another planning dimension- implementation testing. The prohibition created an assessment mechanism evaluating human rule adherence. Whether the test was designed to produce failure or measure compliance, it established feedback mechanisms evaluating plan effectiveness. Perhaps the evaluation was designed to determine whether humans would follow directives through obedience or require experiential learning through consequences – information valuable for future divine-human interaction planning.
Organizational Elements in Creation
Resource Management
Effective planning requires appropriate resource sequencing. Genesis 2:6 notes that “the Lord had not sent rain and there was no man to work the soil” – highlighting the provisional infrastructure (land, soil, seeds) before implementation mechanisms (rain, cultivation). This sequencing raises important questions about resource prioritization.
While vegetation grew independently by day three (Genesis 1:12) and Eden’s river provided water (2:10), the narrative emphasizes human cultivation. This suggests that organizational planning must consider both essential and complementary resources – those absolutely required versus those enhancing implementation effectiveness.
When humans left Eden, the Garden’s purpose became unsustainable – prompting its closure rather than resource reassignment. This highlights the planning principle that critical resource loss may require complete strategy reconfiguration rather than minor adjustments.
The Garden assignment – “to work it and guard it” (Genesis 2:15) – contains significant managerial implications. While “working” suggests cultivation, “guarding” raises questions about threats. Since no external enemies existed, perhaps the protection emphasized resource stewardship – preventing damage through mismanagement or exploitation. Modern environmental consciousness echoes this stewardship principle – planning must incorporate protection against self-inflicted resource degradation.
Meaningful Work Integration
Resource assessment involves more than physical elements – it requires understanding human motivation and purpose. While vegetation could survive without cultivation, human development required meaningful engagement. The intertwining of physical sustainability (rain, cultivation) with spiritual nourishment (divine relationship, purpose) suggests that organizational planning must integrate practical objectives with meaningful purpose.
Just as Jewish tradition views Torah as life-sustaining water, organizational vision provides essential nourishment for implementation sustainability. Without meaningful connection to larger purpose, implementation becomes mechanical rather than inspired. Employees require not only physical resources but also purposeful context – what modern theorists like Maslow and McGregor later articulated as higher-order motivational needs.
Employee Engagement
Genesis 2:15 states that the Lord placed Adam in Eden for cultivation. The medieval commentator Rashi notes that the Lord persuaded Adam using pleasant words – despite Eden containing mature, fruit-bearing plants requiring minimal maintenance. This demonstrates a crucial management principle: engagement requires encouragement rather than mere direction.
The contrast between the Lord’s motivational approach to garden cultivation versus the prohibition’s threatening tone highlights different management styles for different objectives. Motivational language encouraged garden cultivation; clear consequences established boundaries. Similarly, modern managers must calibrate communication approaches to specific objectives – development requires encouragement while compliance sometimes demands clarity about consequences.
Strategic Delegation
The animal-naming assignment (Genesis 1:28, 2:19-20) represents delegation in action. Though seemingly minor compared to animal creation itself, this responsibility engaged Adam as an implementation partner rather than passive beneficiary. Naming required discerning animal essence – a process building connection between namer and named while developing observational skill and conceptual understanding.
This delegation principle applies directly to modern organizations – meaningful participation builds commitment and deepens engagement. Beyond mere task assignment, involving employees in defining organizational elements creates ownership and relational investment. Just as workplace nicknames often develop to recognize essential qualities, Adam’s naming exercise established fundamental relational connections.
Implementation (Directing)
The Creation account demonstrates implementation in its purest form – moving from concept to reality. Unlike modern managers who coordinate others’ efforts, the Creator personally implemented the plan – consulting others (possibly angels, though this could represent pluralis majestatis) only when creating humans. This direct implementation parallels entrepreneurial ventures where founders personally execute every aspect before delegation becomes possible.
Evaluation (Controlling)
Evaluation requires clear outcome expectations. While we cannot determine whether Creation matched every divine specification (did the Lord originally envision two moons?), the narrative suggests functional harmony among interdependent elements – indicating successful implementation against intended design.
The most significant Creation element – humanity – presents complex evaluation considerations. Later divine expressions of regret (leading to Flood and Sodom/Gomorrah interventions) might suggest implementation shortcomings. However, free will was intentionally incorporated into human design – not as defect but as feature. This suggests that unpredictable human choices represent expected variance rather than design failure.
Free will creates both risk and redemptive potential – allowing humans to exercise independent judgment while maintaining reconciliation capacity through forgiveness. Perhaps this framework represents the plan’s central genius – enabling relationship development through choice rather than compulsion. As biblical scholar Steven J. Brams suggests in Biblical Games: Game Theory and the Hebrew Bible (2003), the Creator apparently designed humans with free will precisely because willing devotion holds greater value than programmed obedience.
This suggests that organizational plans should incorporate both performance expectations and acceptable variance parameters – recognizing that perfect compliance might produce less valuable outcomes than engaged adaptation. The capacity for course correction and reconciliation may represent more sophisticated planning than rigid adherence to initial specifications.
Deliverables
Effective planning requires:
- Comprehensive Documentation: Develop detailed plans accessible to all implementation participants.
- Sequential Development: Arrange implementation steps according to logical dependencies and resource availability.
- Contingency Frameworks: Anticipate potential deviations and prepare appropriate response mechanisms.
- Milestone Recognition: Establish evaluation standards and celebrate achievements throughout implementation.
- Meaningful Engagement: Integrate purpose beyond mechanical task completion to sustain implementation motivation.
- Strategic Delegation: Involve implementation partners in meaningful ways that build commitment and develop capabilities.
- Long-Term Perspective: Consider both immediate outcomes and distant implications when designing implementation approaches.
Discussion Questions
- If you could create your ideal world, what elements would you include or exclude in the process, and what steps would you take?
- What part of the world did the Lord, if anything, create that should not have been included in this world?
- If you could find five small jobs (in any field) that could increase a subordinate’s skills, what jobs would you assign them?
- Which part of the creation process would you have liked to have personally witnessed and why?
