Thanksgiving Planning - Taking A Page Out of the NRP Cook Book
I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly ready for Thanksgiving and looking forward to tomorrow. As I think about the 
time people spend preparing for the big day, slowly filling the fridge and creating a menu, I couldn’t help but draw an analogy in my head - preparing for a successful Thanksgiving dinner isn’t all that different from preparing for a successful new service roll-out — you must first create a master plan.
It’s important to gather pertinent information in advance (specials at the grocery store, feedback on favorite dishes, head count of guests, etc.) to anticipate “customer demand” and make sure you spend your money wisely. Even more important is preparing for fluctuations (like new diets or unexpected drop-in guests), to ensure you don’t run out of food, or have so many left-overs that you’re eating turkey for a week.
You have to plan for both extremes — Maybe this means keeping some extra side dishes frozen “just in case,” or buying a loaf of bread to send guests home with “Thanksgiving Sandwiches.” But just like carriers need to continually plan and design their networks to handle ongoing change, so must you continually plan your meal to ensure QoE (quality of eating!). How very Martha Stewart of me. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
