The Odyssey Plan, popularized by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, is a life design tool derived from their book "Designing Your Life" and Stanford's Life Design Lab. It's a framework used for brainstorming and designing potential future paths, encouraging exploration and flexibility in long-term planning. Instead of creating rigid, fixed plans, the Odyssey Plan helps individuals and organizations consider multiple versions of their lives or strategic directions over a five-year period.
The core of the Odyssey Plan involves creating three distinct five-year plans, each representing a different potential future. The first plan typically reflects the individual's current trajectory or an idea they've been considering. The second explores an alternative path, considering what they would do if their initial plan was no longer viable. The third is a "blue sky" scenario, envisioning what they would pursue if money, time, or social image were not constraints. Each plan includes a visual timeline, personal and professional milestones, a six-word headline summarizing the plan's essence, and key questions to explore. The goal isn't to choose one path immediately, but to explore possibilities and clarify values, fostering adaptability and reducing decision-making stress.
While the Odyssey Plan framework is offered in the book "Designing Your Life", related resources such as printable planners and templates are available from various sources online. These can range in price from approximately $1.71 to $7.28, depending on the features and format. The Odyssey Plan framework can also be applied to organizational strategic planning, encouraging leadership teams to challenge assumptions and explore unexpected directions.
