It’s not the plan. All plans quickly become out of date from the moment we write them.
No, the value is the act of planning and the concrete goal that we put into making a business plan. By setting a goal and planning how we’ll get there, we get everyone on the same page, expose and deal with obstacles, and show ourselves that, hey, our dream is possible.
There is a cure that is good for reducing unsightly politics, itchy inaction, painful apathy, and embarrassing turnover. It is also good for vigorously increasing sales and meaningful impact.
It is not a pill, tincture, tea, or cream. It doesn’t come from a dispensary; it comes from all of us. We as leaders (with or without title), can prescribe this powerful medicine. But what is is? It is a clear, commonly created, commonly understood, and compelling goal.
Everything is made (all) better when we understand and can get behind the goal.
Has Success Eluded You at All?
Past performance is not an indicator of future results. That success may have eluded us in the past is no indication that we will not be successful now. If we set a goal, go for win-win, raise our buzz, and act as inspired, we will succeed.
Only our expectations or fear of failure, usually steeped in a desire not to be disappointed again, can ever stop us.
Any success demands both a clear, compelling description of our desired outcome and a complete acceptance of whatever we have now (that, presumably, is not that outcome).
I want to sell more and I completely accept my current sales volume. I want to reduce turnover and I completely accept the current turnover. I want a promotion and completely accept that I am not yet receiving that promotion. I want to lose 10 pounds and I completely accept my current weight. I want more time with my family and I completely accept how much time I have with my family now.
When we fail to completely accept whatever we have now, we short-circuit our ability to get what we want. We remain so subtly but strongly fixed on fighting what we don’t want (current sales volumes, turnover, promotion status, weight, family time) that we keep missing the boat of what we want.
We may resist accepting what we have now because it sounds like we are agreeing with it. Nope. Agreeing implies living with some limit. Accepting means acknowledging what we don’t want and not fighting it. Fighting feels bad. Accepting does not.
We completely resolve this paradox by shifting our focus to what we want. That feels great.
If your organization is like most, you will get as many answers as people you ask. And that’s quite a problem. A big part of the success of any organization is having a clear, compelling, and commonly understood goal. In order to have everyone rowing in the same direction, they need to know what that direction is and why it’s important.
PS: The organization’s goal includes descriptions of what we do for whom, why, and what we get out of it.
PPS: We do not mean for them to regurgitate verbatim the mission statement hanging on the wall of the break room. If everyone gets the general theme, they should be able to say it in their own words. And it’s okay to have variations on the theme. Each person’s unique impression of the theme adds richness and strength.
Success demands we first clearly declare what we want to achieve. Yet we are often afraid to do that. We worry that we will be disappointed if we set our hearts on something and it doesn’t materialize. We fret that we won’t be able to handle or hold on to the success. Or we are concerned that we will choose the wrong goals.
Let’s choose something anyway. While we worry and delay choosing what we want, success remains elusive.
And, once we get started, we will see that we get to choose more and more success adventures. They keep coming.
There is a caveat when setting large, nutty, impossible goals: they don’t work if you feel bad while you are setting them. If it feels bad–like a weight on your shoulders or a punch in the stomach–you are getting insight that the goal is not right for you. You may be selecting this goal out of guilt, because you think you should. You may deep-down-believe that you can’t/won’t/mustn’t achieve the goal. Or that another goal would serve you better.
Here are two things you can do. First, you can set a slightly less large, nutty, impossible goal. Look for a reduced version of the goal that is still compelling and that you believe you can achieve. Second, you can stick with your original large, nutty, impossible goal and reset your beliefs about what’s possible; try using the Ladder tool.