“If you don’t know where you are going, you can never be lost.” – Brian Mitchell, Inspired Selling
I have often had fun using this statement to talk about planning. Technically, I believe this sentence is contradictory, and that is part of why it is also a bit thought-provoking. One could argue that if you don’t know where you are going, you are lost. However, if you think of it differently, it may paint a different picture for you. If you don’t know where you are going because you have not identified a target destination, where you are, then has no relevance to a target, therefore may be considered not in a lost condition. So, the challenge or problem, if you will, is not where you are, but instead not knowing where you want to go.
If you are a leader, do you plan and want your team to prepare also, but find it difficult to get them to do so? I often find it to be a delicate balancing act, giving people autonomy but also expecting them to follow a rigorous pattern. What I have seen through the years is that some companies build elaborate plans and then put them on the shelf to gather dust while others do not plan at all. As a consultant, I have numerous times asked for the company business plan only to have the CEO tell me it is in his head. My response, whether vocally or not is always the same “Good luck with that, you will need plenty.” Moreover, when that plan is built, it usually is very transactional or tactical and lacks a strategic view. Sometimes it works out without a real strategy and then is when the idea of plenty of good luck has become an integral part of the plan.
In the past, I have written, trained and spoken on the topic of planning and admitted that I was previously a Daytimer “To Do List” maker. Several years ago, I became a planner and pitched the “To Do Lists” in favor of a MAP strategy that includes only A priority goals. “MAP” is an acronym that I made up that represents Measurable, Attainable and Profitable goals. I try to make every intention fit into the MAP criteria or let it go and move on.
I not only plan for business but also for my personal life. Candidly, I find personal planning more difficult than business planning. Both are unpredictable but sometimes what God has in mind for me and what I have an immediate desire for are not always aligned. I have learned that His long-term plan is much more dependable than mine.
John Maxwell’s Law 6: The Law Of Design – To Maximize Growth, Develop Strategies hits the nail on the head for me. As I try to align my business and personal lives, this law of growth makes perfect sense. If you notice, I wrote “lives” in the last sentence. I want it to read, the alignment of my business and personal “life” – singular. Those of you who have done that know precisely that to which I refer. Those of you who haven’t done that or consider it impossible, keep reading.
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” – Jim Rohn
“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.” – Jim Rohn
John Maxwell defines a “system” as: “The process of predictably achieving a goal based on a logical and specific set of “how to” principles.” John is one of the most systematic people that I have ever met and yet he is also the most excellent ad lib speaker that I know. I think it is because he is so prepared that those wisdom-filled quips and quotes roll off his tongue. He has some rules regarding his systems for success:
1. Glancing backward, planning forward: let the past be a teacher but not an inhibitor to the future.
2. Life Lessons:
A. Life is very simple but keeping it that way is very difficult: removing clutter and noise is the only way to be able to see and hear clearly.
B. Designing your life Is more important than designing your career: I admire those who can build their career around their life. They are likely happier with both.
C. Life Is not a dress rehearsal: you only get to do it once, why not make the best of it and know that when it happens, it happens, and you can’t take it back.
E. In planning your life multiply everything by two: make goals and set expectations that are attainable because positive momentum emerges from wins, both large and small.
3. To develop strategies, depend on systems:
A. Personal growth can and will come when systems are received personally
B. There is a saying in business: systems are the solutions
C. Effective Systems Include:
I. Considering the big picture: you must have the result in mind when building an effective system
II. Making use of our priorities: only the highest and best use of your time should be part of your action plan
Consider this axiom: “Luck comes to the prepared.” What does that say to you about planning and strategy?