Creating a plans to spur input
When I find myself in an ambiguous situation - no clear direction, no defined success criteria - the best move is usually to create an imperfect plan.
I say “imperfect” because the goal isn’t to get it right. The goal is to create motion. In ambiguous moments, the problem isn’t lack of quality direction - it’s lack of any direction. The plan’s job is to break the stalemate.
So, start simple. Write down:
What are you going to do?
What’s your team going to do?
What do you expect to achieve by the end of the quarter?
What are you explicitly not doing, and why?
Even if the plan is a weakly held belief, it’s a starting point. Action creates information.
Next, share it. Send it to the people who could give you input but haven’t: a manager, a peer, a cross-functional partner. Do it in a lightweight, non-blocking way. Something like:
“Hey, just wanted to share what I’m planning for the team this quarter. Would love your input if you have thoughts. I’m locking this in Friday.”
Then, wait. One of two things will happen.
They’ll rubber-stamp it. They’ll appreciate the initiative, maybe skim it, maybe even echo your clarity upward. Great, you now have alignment and a path forward.
You’ll trigger a strong reaction. This is the gold. The plan creates the contrast that was missing. Suddenly they’ll say, “No, not that, this.” That’s the moment you were waiting for. Now you have something to debate, and the discussion will be concrete, fast-moving, and productive.
The act of writing down an imperfect plan forces others to clarify their thinking. It puts a clock on their opinion. It changes the conversation from “What should we do?” to “Should we do this or that?”
I’ve seen this work across teams and roles. PMs do it when product direction is vague. Engineers do it when requirements are fuzzy. Even execs do it when strategy is drifting. In every case, the draft plan functions like a forcing mechanism - it transforms ambiguity into energy.
Action creates information. When no one is telling you what to do, write the plan anyway. The act of doing so will often draw out the direction you were missing.