As a sales manager, I believe that planning is one of the keys to success. Of course, things do not always develop in the way we ________ they will, but that's another story. Recently I was responsible for our new subsidiary in Guangzhou, so I decided to follow the rules for effective planning. First, I ________ a lot of research and ________ up-to-date information about doing business in China. I didn't want to ________ a decision too quickly. I had a range of options available, and wanted to ________ each one of them carefully. I then ________ the costs and prepared the ________. Finally, I ________ a schedule for our junior managers and tried to ________ sales for the year ahead. Everything went according to ________ – except that two of our competitors moved in one month later!