Have you ever reached an advanced stage in an assignment and spotted a problem that was there to be detected all along? It can happen to all of us, and it's one of the most dispiriting feelings. The later it happens the worse it is. More time and money will have been wasted, more missteps will have been taken and more initiative will have been lost. Credibility might also have been impaired, both with counterparties and the client.

If this has ever happened to you, you will remember it vividly, and how you needed a salvage plan. Obviously some salvage plans work and some don't, but what is always true is that they can never be as robust as a solid, pre-launch plan with client backing. So, yes, collaborative planning absolutely has to come first.

It is infinitely better to plan carefully at the outset, and then to detect problems as early as possible and correct them. This is equally true, whether you are a lawyer or an automaker. This is precisely why Toyota developed the notion of 'Jidoka' (often referred to as "automation with a human touch"). This means that if a problem occurs any operative is empowered to stop the production line immediately, to prevent defective products from being produced.