I tell this story to illustrate the truth of the statement I heard long ago in the Army: ''Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.''''' There is a very great distinction because when you are planning for an emergency you must start with this one thing: the very definition of "emergency" is that it is unexpected, therefore it is not going to happen the way you are planning.'''" - Meaning and context.">
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From a speech to the National Defense Executive Reserve Conference in Washington, D.C. (November 14, 1957) ; in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957, National Archives and Records Service, Government Printing Office, p. 818 : , 9780160588518
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I tell this story to illustrate the truth of the statement I heard long ago in the Army: ''Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.''''' There is a very great distinction because when you are planning for an emergency you must start with this one thing: the very definition of "emergency" is that it is unexpected, therefore it is not going to happen the way you are planning.'''

— Dwight D. Eisenhower

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I tell this story to illustrate the truth of the statement I heard long ago in the Army: ''Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.''''' There is a very great distinction because when you are planning for an emergency you must start with this one thing: the very definition of "emergency" is that it is unexpected, therefore it is not going to happen the way you are planning.'''" in the context of "From a speech to the National Defense Executive Reserve Conference in Washington, D.C. (November 14, 1957) ; in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957, National Archives and Records Service, Government Printing Office, p. 818 : , 9780160588518 " to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Dwight D. Eisenhower" (Quotes, 1950s) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 30, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Dwight D. Eisenhower#planning#emergency#very#distinction#illustrate#everything#definition#unexpected#statement#worthless#therefore
Dwight D. Eisenhower

About Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David Eisenhower (14 October 1890 – 28 March 1969), also widely known by his nickname "Ike", was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe, and achieved the rare five-star rank of General of the Army. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–1943 and the successful invasion of Normandy in 1944–1945 from the Western Front.

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