If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail | A leader’s vision check for 2020

Imagine we’re sitting down for coffee and I ask, “…are you completely happy with the progress you made in 2019?”

We hope that you are. We hope this was a banner year for your organization, but I have a follow up question, “…was it intentional or accidental?”

Without intentionality, all results are accidental.

A year from now, when we catch up over coffee again, what do you hope to tell me you accomplished in 2020? If you haven’t given it much thought yet, you’re not alone. Most leaders want better results, but fail to adequately and intentionally plan for those better results. It’s so easy to get lost in the day to day grind. Too much to do and too little time to do it. The urgent rules the day. Simply working harder is not the answer.

If you want different results, you need to take different actions.

We’ve all heard the wise old saying about the definition of insanity and there’s a reason it’s a wise old saying. If you want different results, you need to take different actions. This is where I have seen organizations turn things around with a serious, thoughtful and formal strategic plan. Let’s face it, the “insanity” won’t stop until you and your organization start acting differently. Strategic planning provides a compass to continually bring your team back to your most important priorities, not just the busy work that is vying for your attention.

I know you have all these great ideas running around in your head. “If we could only…” or “I would like to see us…” Until you are willing to get that stuff out of your head and onto paper, it’s just a dream. How do expect the troops to rally around you and all those great ideas if they don’t know what they are? Once they know, your team can build out your ideas and make them even better.

Putting together a strategic plan will force you to prioritize, to make important choices about were you will spend your time resources. Once you and your team get focused on your most important initiatives and you allow yourself the time and space to work on them, you will be shocked at how fast things change.

Tired of the same old same old year after year? Don’t leave the results to chance.

Click here to receive a FREE copy of: 9 Secrets to Improve Strategic Planning.