failing to plan is planning to fail
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Lack of preparation leads to failure
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “failing to plan is planning to fail” mean?
Lack of preparation leads to failure
Is “failing to plan is planning to fail” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.