I Plan, Therefore I Am

Andrew, this is a pretty good synopsis of my PM development over the last 10 years:

Beginner PM
1) I plan
2) Things don’t go according to the plan
3) I beat up myself

Novice PM
1) After learning how to play the estimating game, I plan
2) Things don’t go according to the plan
3) I beat up the developers

Journeyman PM
1) After learning about Waterfall and SDLC, I plan
2) Things don’t go according to the plan
3) I beat up the customer

Expert PM
1) After realizing that a plan is based on estimates of the unknown, I plan
2) Things don’t go according to the plan
3) I adapt the plan
4) Nobody gets hurt