The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word STRATEGY
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
T
R
A
T
E
G
Y
More clues leading to the result STRATEGY
- Plan sending back some puddings for one year
- Plan great changes in farm building
- Get backing in homeless plan
- Get overthrown in maverick plan
- Ridiculous targets added to Yeltsin’s initial plan
- Pious type to assess extremely greedy policy
- Plan to wander off to capture sheep
- Plan for homeless to get back inside
- Design that traps rodent say in animal pen
- Time for example consumed by random plan
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "plan" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case plan = strategy.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does STRATEGY mean?
STRATEGY noun- The science and art of military command as applied to the overall planning and conduct of warfare.
- A plan of action intended to accomplish a specific goal.
- The use of advance planning to succeed in politics or business.