The Hope Imperative

May 5, 2021

By Matt Miner, MBA, CFP®

Sometimes Hope is Not a Plan, and Sometimes Hope is the ONLY Plan

It’s a management truism – Hope is not a plan. And while there’s a sense in which that’s true, hope is 100% essential for our plans to succeed. For example, when you demolish your kitchen, you need hope (an an iron-clad commitment) that it’s coming back soon, and better than ever! My friend Joshua Sheats makes the point that disaster is not a plan either!

Hope is Insufficient

The first time I heard the phrase “hope is not a plan” I worked at John Deere Seeding supervising about thirty UAW machinists, assemblers and welders. We built enormous machines to put tiny seeds in the ground so y’all can eat.

In response to a line delay (one I could have anticipated), I informed my second level manager I’d hoped the needed part would make it to the machine on time. Hope, he told me, was not a successful strategy to get the right parts to the right place at the right time! Instead, I needed to run the missing part to earth with as much vigor and profanity as possible, and then get it to the machine by any means necessary!

He was right. Hope would not move the machine down the line.

In the “own your failures show” I called out hope as a career strategy a failure. In my words, “I hoped the organization would change to accommodate my personality and strengths. I hoped the ag industry would take an upturn and a return to growth would make everyone happier. I hoped I’d come to love the job, even though the role became more painful, not less, as the months and years passed, and even though I was investing my attention, money, and time in a completely different industry.”

The learning here is simple: Hope must be grounded in careful planning and concrete action. Nevertheless, without hope, our plans are dead on arrival.

Hope is Necessary

In a blog post, Air Force Colonel Jeremy Weber criticized what he called the “hope is not a strategy” mindset” as resulting in “inaction and paralysis, while a strategy of hope inspires creativity and bold action.”

American was founded on hope. Pessimism, Eisenhower said, never won any battle.

In a March 2021 article called “An Emotion we all need More of” (paywall alert), Elizabeth Bernstein of the Wall Street Journal wrote, “Hope’s crucial component, psychologists say, is agency. People who are hopeful don’t just have a goal or wish, they have a strategy to achieve it and the motivation to implement their plan. Hope is the belief that the future will be better than the present and that you have some power to make it so.”

The idea that hope drives agency fits with our day-to-day experience. Who ever went to grad school, got married, had children, or volunteered their time for a worthy cause, without hope?

Let hope be the rocket fuel as you craft your plans and do the work. Without it, you’ll never get off the ground.

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Matt Miner: Today's show builds directly on its predecessor, so if you missed Learn From Failure and How and When to Trust your Gut, I recommend you go back and check that episode out first.

Now, let's take a look at a second management truism – Hope is not a plan. Add to it the notion that while it's true hope is not a plan, hope is 100% essential for any of our plans to succeed.

Hey and welcome to the Work Pants Finance podcast. I'm Matt Miner, your money guide, and Work Pants Finance is the show for MBAs, entrepreneurs, and other professionals who want their financial plan to work as hard as they do.

Now, here's your money guide quick tip. Sow your seeds in hope and be optimistic about the future because catastrophe is not a plant either. Pursue your dreams with dogged determination. It won't all work out the way you want, but if you reach for the stars, you won't end up with a handful of mud either. Read more at workpantsfinance.com/22.

The first time I heard the phrase 'hope is not a plan' I worked at John Deere Seeding supervising about 30 UAW machinists, assemblers, and welders. We built enormous machines to put tiny seeds in the ground so y 'all can eat. In response to a line delay that I could have anticipated, I informed my second-level manager I had hoped the needed part would make it to the machine on time. Hope, he told me, was not a successful strategy to get the right parts to the right place at the right time. Instead, I needed to run the missing part to earth with as much vigor and profanity as possible and then get it to the machine by any means necessary. He was right. Hope would not move the machine down the line.

In the Own Your Failure show, which was the basis of this show as well as its predecessor, I called 'hope as a strategy' a failure as it related to a past job. In my words, I hoped the organization would change to accommodate my personality and strengths. I hoped the agricultural industry would take an upturn and return to growth and make everyone happier. I hoped I'd come to love the job even though the role became more painful, not less, as the months and years passed, and even though I was investing my time and money in a completely different industry. The learning here is simple: Hope must be grounded in careful planning and concrete action. Nevertheless, without hope, our plans are dead on arrival.

Today's show is brought to you by America, the country that in the words of one of my favorite presidents is too great for small dreams. I've got a lot of optimism for Work Pants Finance listeners, as you turn your plans into concrete actions to make things better for you, for your family, and for your neighbors. In a 2018 blog post, Air Force Colonel Jeremy Weber criticized what he called the 'hope is not a strategy' mindset as resulting in "inaction and paralysis, while a strategy of hope inspires creativity and bold action." America was founded on hope. Eisenhower said, "Pessimism never won any battle."

In a March 2021 article called An Emotion We All Need More of, Elizabeth Bernstein of the Wall Street Journal wrote, "Hope's crucial component, psychologists say, is agency. People who are hopeful don't just have a goal or a wish, they have a strategy to achieve it and the motivation to implement their plan. Hope is the belief that the future will be better than the present and that you have some power to make it so."

The idea that hope drives agency fits with our day-to-day experience. Whoever went to grad school, got married, had children, or volunteered their time for a worthy cause without hope? So let hope be the rocket fuel as you craft your plans and do the work. Without it, you'll never get off the ground.

[00:03:54] Speaker 2: Matt Miner is a fee-only fiduciary financial advisor and founder and CEO of Miner Wealth Management, a North Carolina registered investment advisor where Matt provides personalized, unconflicted advice to clients for a fee. He's also my dad, so please be nice when you talk to him. Matt is a certified financial planner professional and holds a Series 65 securities license. He earned his bachelor's degree in finance from Arizona State University and his MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

Work Pants Finance is Matt's financial media business where he talks about work, entrepreneurship, kids and money, taxes, investing, and other personal finance topics. WorkPantsFinance.com exists to share wisdom and provide general financial information. It is not financial, tax, or legal advice. You are an individual and probably need personal advice for your specific situation. You should consider building relationships with helpful, caring, and competent professionals who understand your unique context and can provide advice that is tailored to your needs.

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