TITLE: Plan A Versus Plan B
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: May 23, 2011  2:34 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
Late last week, Michael Nielsen tweeted:

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
"The most successful people are those who are good at Plan B."
-- James Yorke
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is one of my personal challenges.  I am a pretty good
Plan A person.  Historically, though, I am a mediocre Plan B
person.  This is true of creating Plan B, but more importantly
of recognizing and accepting the need for Plan B.

Great athletes are good at Plan B.  My favorite Plan B from
the sporting world was executed by Muhammad Ali in the
<A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rumble_in_the_Jungle">
   Rumble in the Jungle</A>,
his heavyweight title fight against George Foreman in
October 1974.  Ali was regarded by most at that time as
the best boxer in the world, but in Foreman he encountered
a puncher of immense power.  At the end of Round 1, Ali
realized that his initial plan of attacking Foreman was
unlikely to succeed, because Foreman was also a quick
fighter who had begun to figure out Ali's moves.  So Ali
changed plans, taking on greater short-term risk by allowing
Foreman to hit him as much as he wanted, so long as the blows
were not the kind likely to end the fight immediately.  Over
the next few rounds, Foreman began to wear down, unaccustomed
to throwing so many punches for so many rounds against an
opponent who did not weaken.  Eventually, Ali found his
opening, attacked, and ended the fight in Round 8.

This fight is burned in my mind for the all-time great Plan
B moment: Ali sitting on his stool between the first and
second rounds, eyes as wide and white as platters.  I do
not ever recall seeing fear in Muhammad Ali's eyes at any
other time in his career, before or after this fight.  He
believed that Foreman could knock him out.  But rather than
succumb to the fear, he gathered himself, recalculated, and
fought a different fight.  Plan B.  The Greatest indeed.

Crazy software developer that I am, I see seeds of Plan B
thinking in agile approaches.  Keep Plan A simple, so that
you don't overcommit.  Accept Plan B as a matter of course,
refactoring in each cycle to build what you learn from
writing the code back into the program.  React to your
pair's ideas and to changes in the requirements with aplomb.

There is good news:  We can learn how to be better at Plan B.
It takes effort and discipline, just as changing any of our
habits does.  For me, it is worth the effort.

~~~~

If you would like to learn more about the Rumble in the
Jungle, I strongly recommend the documentary film
<A HREF="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118147/">
   When We Were Kings</A>,
which tells the story of this fight and how it came to
be.  Excellent sport. excellent art, and you can see Ali's
Plan B moment with your own eyes.
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