Operating a company or a department within a company is quite an adventure. With adventures, a lot can go right and a lot can go wrong and a lot can go absolute nowhere and waste a whole lot of time. In order to get as much to go right as possible, we need a plan. Preferably a well thought-out plan that adapts as needed. Yes, we can just start off pell-mell and see what happens, but that seems messy and fraught with missed turns, U-turns, and just plain confusion. So plan it is!
A well-thought good plan doesn’t have to be meticulously detailed, but the more detail we can include, the better it is. The start of a good plan is a good destination. If you are looking for a fun business read (yes, there’s such a thing), consider Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Be Useful. He talks about being crystal clear about the goal. With great clarity, we know which road to take when an intersection presents itself. Knowing where we are starting and where we are going will help make sure we get the correct gear, knowledge, and help both throughout the adventure.
We’ll start with the journalists’ Five W’s: Who, what, when, where, why. The initial answers are easy. Who is going? What is it that we are doing? When do we want to meet our goal? Where are we going to do that? Why? WHY? Ooh, that’s a hard one, but it will impact the others (and the others may impact that one – especially the who). The clearer the question, the clearer the answer. The clearer the answer, the clearer path forward and the easier and better the plan.
It’s now mid-year. That means if you have a clear plan for the year, it’s time to check in to see if you are still on route. If you off route, now is the time to get back on. No plan? No problem. No one says you can’t come up with one now. Not sure where to start? With either the assessment or a new plan? Start with who. One you know the stakeholders, then pick the next W and keep going. See you at year-end much closer to our goals!