4-6. Planning ensures that a force employs limited resources and capabilities according to priority of effort and assessed risks. Often requirements for stability operations outpace available resources and capabilities necessary to reestablish conditions of peace and stability. Planning involves focusing efforts toward accomplishing a mission while carefully balancing resources, capabilities, and activities across multiple lines of effort. While commanders typically focus resources on the decisive operation, they also provide sufficient resources to capitalize on unforeseen opportunities and to provide impetus for other efforts. The numerous stability operations tasks involved in the consolidation of gains of any operation require specific capabilities, and the availability of these capabilities is often limited. An effective plan judiciously applies these capabilities where and when forces need them most. Commanders synchronize the application of these capabilities in time and space to create the greatest effect, one that achieves broad success in one line of effort while reinforcing progress in the others.