Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.
–Paul J. Meyer
Achieving your goals and obtaining desired results requires planning; without a plan, it’s unlikely you’ll reach the levels of success you’re capable of. Having and living your plan is the 3rd component in our series “what do leaders really want from their staff”. Click here to read the first two articles in the series.
Have you ever worked for someone that had a great vision, was innovative, and had great ideas for growth opportunities yet couldn’t seem to make things happen? This is more common than you think.
We all have differing strengths, styles, and preferences, and for some of us planning requires a lot of effort, where as for others it seems to occur so naturally. Planning requires persistence, details, a timeline, and a commitment.
Planning also requires documenting goals and strategies, and ensuring skill-sets are in place to execute the plan. You will encounter obstacles – expect them! Plan for them! Do not give up at the first sign of difficulty. Many of us are tempted to give up when we hit the first hurdle, are met with opposition, or experience frustrations. Our journey includes living and experiencing both ups and downs; it’s how we deal with them that is crucial.
Fear can also be a factor that derails our plan. Understand what’s causing the discomfort, feel it, process it, and move on. Don’t beat yourself up if you need to deviate from your plan, instead determine other courses of action that may work better for you.
If planning is an issue we recommend using the One Page Strategic Plan. It’s a great planning and problem solving tool that is extremely useful in taking anything from where it is today, to where you want it to be in the future. If you’d like to receive the template click here and request the One Page Strategic Plan. (Note: This is useful to solve problems and drive improvements, but is not intended for full project planning).
We also recommend that everyone have a personal development plan. If you don’t have one start by answering (and documenting):
- What are my strengths and what do I need to do to keep them strong?
- What actions or behaviors would I benefit from by changing or eliminating?
- What are my growth opportunities?
Be an owner, be a leader, and be successful; plan!