Hi Reader,

Got a retirement plan — or don't give a damn because it's too far down the road to think about it?

Going on vacation? Just walking out the door on Day 1?

Struggling with a medical diagnosis — but figure it will work itself out, so there's no need to plan for your care?

What Really Matters?

We are very thoughtful about the things that matter, but when it comes to a 2027 Business Plan, most people would prefer to hug the porcelain bowl than to do anything about it.

A lot of that comes from past experiences with ponderous, tedious, painful planning processes that wasted a lot of time … and worst of all, were never implemented.

I suppose if a dartboard and a pair of dice were all we'd need to run our lives ... we could skip all this planning stuff.

That's why I didn't mention your 2027 Business Plan in the subject line. Too many of you would ignore it.

Sure, you can ignore it — but you do so at your peril.

Don't despair, though. It's possible to find a path forward without making yourself crazy.

That's why I want to share with you 4 Reasons Why You Need to Plan.

I also encourage you to take another look at the quotations included in Monday's newsletter since they are foundational to getting through ANY PLANNING PROCESS.

No Plan? No Business!

Sure, you can lumber along for a while without a plan — but take Winston Churchill's maxim to heart:

Can you imagine constructing a building without an architect?

Would you like to conduct an orchestra without a score?

Would you send your team onto the field with an empty playbook?

Would it be awesome to have your surgeon start on you without a clue about what she’s going to do?

No Problem. We Do It Every Year.

I remember meeting with a senior executive at a client’s office who surprised me when she told me they held a strategic planning event every year.

They brought in all of the troops from different parts of the country and reviewed their plans and ideas for the next 12 months.

I was surprised … and impressed … to hear this because the CEO earlier told me they had no plan, which was why I was there. So, I probed a little more with this executive to learn about her experience and what came out of it each year.

Jabberwocky? Brainstorming? Strategery?

So, what shall we call this miserable planning business?

Jabberwocky?

Brainstorming?

Strategery — that memorable SNL invention associated with President Bush?

Whatever works to make planning more accessible and less intimidating is what you should use. It doesn't have to feel like a root canal!

Make up a name … create an iconic character … do anything to make it an energetic, fun and invigorating process that puts the company in the driver’s seat to achieve success.

4 Reasons Why You Need to Plan

1. You need a target at which to aim … and you’ve got to find some way to separate the crappy ideas from the good ones.
2. You’ve got limited resources, so you can’t go after everything.
3. You can't simply choose something that you’re good at but that everyone else is already doing. (Worse might be that you cleverly choose something that no one else is doing … but you don’t know the first thing about it.)
4. Without a few strategic choices that differentiate you from everyone else, you're on a path to nowhere.

With limited resources, you can’t afford to screw this up

That’s it in a nutshell.

Relying on gut instinct or picking favorites only works if you have unlimited resources and can squander them without consequence.

Sadly, that’s not the ship most of us are steering.

It’s a cliché, but we’ve got to “get the biggest bang for our buck."

We know that the benefits of some of these initiatives will not come quickly.

So, in addition to focusing our limited financial resources, we need to avoid chasing rainbows so we don’t invest a bunch of time only to discover that it was wasted effort and we have to start over.

Do I need a consultant to tackle this?

Not at all, my friend — although about now, some of you are saying …

Nope.

You don't need a big planning project, an Ivy League MBA or the GE auditorium.

It will take some dedicated time to evaluate the opportunities available to build your business.

You can get it done yourself if you devote the time to it.

And, if you need help, get it — because the cost of not doing it at all is far greater than the investment to get it done.

Above all … DO IT!

Don't Stop Leading!