The Importance of Having a Plan
This Blog is about the critical importance of having a plan, and what ignoring the advice will most likely result in. Both, in your life and in your business.
One of my all-time favorite sayings is:
Everyone (Yes, including YOU) fit into one of the following categories:
• No plan. No brains. – Aside from sheer luck, about 100% failure rate.
• No plan. Brains. – May work very hard at succeeding, but failure is likely to follow at some point.
• A plan. No brains. – Better chance than above but will also need either help or luck to succeed.
• A plan. Brains. – Odds on favorite to succeed.
Example: You decide to go from Los Angeles to New York. Team “A” sets off 1st. Team “B” sets off 2nd.
Team “A” has no map, no timeline, no budget. They NEVER arrive.
- They try to follow the sun, but as it’s position changes, so does their direction.
- Without a timeline;
- There is no sense of urgency.
- They sleep late.
- Start late.
- Skip travel days altogether.
- Ran out of gas (more than once).
- Drove around multiple offramps to find somewhere to eat.
- Lost track of time, and eventually,
- Run out of money and have to call for help in getting back home, never reaching their goal.
Team “B” has plotted out their entire trip on a map including:
- Driving time per day.
- Miles driven per day.
- Number of days to reach New York.
- Where the most economical gas stations were.
- Where they’d stop for each meal based on their food allowance.
- Where they’d stay each night based on their lodging budget.
Team “B” arrived in New York in 6 days, refreshed and with extra money in their pocket from being under budget. They never saw team “A” after they watched them start off in the wrong direction.
That trip is a Metaphor for your life, your business or even your career.
Yes, some people have gone through life and got lucky. Think Lottery Winners. Blind luck, random choices. But then, just how many MILLIONS play the lottery and never win?
Without a plan, you don’t have a clear picture of how to get where you want to go. How will you know if you get off track? How will you know how to get back on track?
Dave Ramsey has made an incredible impact on millions of families with his Financial Planning programs. And I would guess that many of the people he’s helped started out by “Winging it” only to find themselves in dire financial straits, bankruptcy or worse. Money issues are one of the top issues in relationships. Having a plan reduces or eliminates many of those issues.
And so can a plan for your life. Not just “What do I want to be after college”, but how do you plan to get there? What courses? What school? How long will it take? What will it cost? How can I afford it?
Your business is THE SAME as all those issues.
- Where do I want the business to be in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years?
- What tools, staff and /or skills do I need to get there?
- How will I hire the staff to get there?
- What type of Marketing will I need to get there?
- How much will that Marketing cost?
- Where will the funding come from?
- Where is the best location for my business?
- How much does a building cost there?
- Do I purchase, lease or rent the building?
- Do I have a sales plan?
- What should it look like?
- How do I make an effective one?
- How do I increase my sales Close Rate?
- What is the best way to increase my margins?
You get the idea. But please, don’t take my word for it. Be skeptical. Question the status quo. But then, make a plan.
The benefits are right in front of you.
You can Google “Having a plan quotes” and literally be swamped with solid examples of why planning is critical to success, if certainly not at least, important. Here’s one of them.
Sales a la Carte – “Just the help you need, and nothing you don’t”
