Why is it important to write down our plans? If the plan is only in our mind, then some of it may be acted on and some of it may go to the wayside. If we write it down and share it with others we are 75% more likely to achieve the goals of the plan. That sounds like a good reason to write it down.
Here are the two key reasons why people do not write down their plans:
1. No time
2. Don’t know how
Let’s look at these reasons one at a time. The first reason is “No time”. Give me a break. You have as much time as George Bush, Bill Gates or Fred Smith. We all have been blessed with 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Not having the time is no excuse. Yes we will have to stop and get off the merry-go-round, put our day to day activities to the side and start thinking. Oooooo…. Thinking, that’s too hard. It is critical to plan so that we can get the most out of our efforts. We don’t plan because it is not urgent. We get hung up in urgent stuff which is frequently not important stuff. Business planning is important stuff!
The second reason is “Don’t know how”. This is not rocket science. Most leaders have good plans in their heads. If they get it down on paper then they can share it with their team (employees, customers, suppliers, bankers, board of directors, etc.) A well documented and concise business plan gives the team a clear picture of where they are, where they are going and how they will get there. The team might even challenge the plan and make it better!
So what do you have to get down on paper? Answer these questions:
§ What are you building?
§ Why do you exist?
§ How will you get there?
§ What will we measure to see our progress?
§ What are the big, important chunks of work to do?
Right-to-the-point answers to these questions will provide you with a rough draft. You can polish it up, support it with financials and now it will help you communicate with your team.
Stop procrastinating! Take the time now to think through your business plan and ink it (get it down on paper). Business planning will improve your execution. Improved execution will get you better business results. The return on your time and resources invested in planning will be very rewarding to you.
Bill Drennan is a business consultant, whose passion is “getting people smarter about growing their business”. If you have any questions, please contact us at 901-755-4070 or info@performancesystemsinc.com.
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