On this episode, James Woosley and Megan Burns discuss the reasons small business owners and entrepreneurs fail to adequately build a plan for the future.
Why do people fail to plan? (lack of plan/fear of strategy)
- Some are simply action oriented. They get an idea and run with it. Sometimes they are successful, but often they fail or get somewhere they didn’t intend.
- Others find planning too difficult or are too impatient to take a moment to think intentionally. But how long does it take? How long should you take?
- And some just don’t know how to make a plan.
What makes planning easier? Doable?
- First understand that making a plan or crafting a strategy can be simple.
- Start by thinking about what you’re trying to do. What is the purpose? What is the intended outcome?
- Can it be communicated to others? Writing it down will help, but it will also help you be thorough and remember what you were thinking days and weeks later.
- You’re thinking about and creating a possible future. You’re evaluating a number of possible futures. But don’t aim for infinite possibilities…just a bit of “what if” thinking.
How can strategy be made simple?
- Keep it simple. Too much information or detail too early will only make it seem overly complicated or impossible.
- Find a basic template or structure to guide you. Obviously we recommend the SSP, but there are others if you search the internet.
- Test to see if you feel like you’re creating something useful or if it’s just busy work. Stop short of busy work unless any planning at all feels that way.
- Results matter. Does your new plan and planning system move you forward or hold you back? Action matters, but intentional action matters more. Don’t plan just to plan.
Action Steps:
- Assess your current planning method
- Find one thing to change
- Find one resource to help and try it
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