Can’t you see that I’m busy? I have meetings to attend, calls to make, people to meet, fires to put out. And you want me to sit down and think about what I’m trying to create, where I’m trying to take this organization?
Planning is to leaders what studying is to students. This applies to leaders of all levels and it can be as complicated or as simple as the situation requires. The larger and more complicated the endeavor, the more detailed the planning might need to be, and yet what often times keeps leaders from planning, is the fact that they don’t have all of the information and all of the answers.
Start with where you are and then define where you want to go. Clarity around what you think the final outcome will be helps inform you of what to do next. Instead of spending a week planning, spend a couple of hours on weekly planning.
Things are changing so fast that definitively stating where you are going to be in 5 or 10 years can lock you on a path in which the only way to change is to start all over again. Instead you want a clear vision with sign posts along the way that help keep you on course and that also let you change direction as the economy and innovation point in new ways.
Just as pilots chart a course based on the desired destination and then make slight adjustments as they go to ensure they stay on course; so too should you create a plan based on your desired destination and make slight adjustments to the plan as new information suggests changes.
When you look at planning from this perspective you’ll begin to see that planning is what you do to keep your organization on track to the fulfillment of your mission.
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Jane works with CEOs, Partners, Principals and Executives who are looking for Clarity, Focus and Release. My clients and colleagues call me a thought provoking Business Therapist. My focus is helping overwhelmed executives regain clarity, let go of ambiguity, uncertainty and fear, while bringing focus to their goals and objectives. I ask the hard questions knowing that you’re ready to answer them.
Jane is also the author of Put Your Big Girl Panties On and Kick Your Fears in the Ass.
Additional information is available at www.lovasconsulting.com. Contact Jane by email jlovas@lovasconsulting.com or by telephone at 703.594.6028.