How to thrive and survive in the next year, how to make business planning stick and add certainty to your business when perhaps, there is very little certainty around.

 

Step 1. “This won’t take long”

The first step in business planning is to take the time. Literally to take the time, ringefence it, guard it fiercely, go hide where there is no phone signal, no internet, and no disturbance. You will be here for a few hours, make it somewhere comfortable, and let your loved one know where you are, and that if they love, they will help you by keeping everyone else away for a few hours. Literally take the time.

Step 2. Look Back.

In the coaching world we only look back to learn and to celebrate. So take a year in review, and not only look at what went well, what you enjoyed, but also WHY it went and WHY you enjoyed it. Take the time to celebrate your wins, you most likely spend long enough beating yourself up about the losses

 

Step 3. Why?

Enjoy your Why? For each of the wins, understand the why you have written for the above. Planning rarely works, very few people stick to a plan. The BEST plans are the ones you enjoy..like a day out or date night, we don’t let those go. But plans to decorate the sitting room? Easy to let go, unless you’re building a bar in there…isn’t that interesting.

Lets start building some plans that you WANT to complete.

 

Step 4. Start Big

Or in this case, consider where you want your business to be in 5 years time.

What are the major projects you see between now, and completion. Write them down. Call these the big rocks, the boulders.

Now breaking down those boulders into smaller rocks, what 5/6 major projects do you foresee, in reaching that 5 year vision? Make these your yearly goals, the rocks.

List your “rocks” and prioritise them, which do you WANT to complete first, which do you need to complete first? Remember your list of Why? Above, what is there on your list of rocks that appeals to your Why?

Make the most urgent and attractive rocks into your immediate 1 year goal. And break it down again into 3-4 smaller projects. These will be your 90 day goals, small rocks, write them in a list.

Step 5: Make it SMART

Specific. Not woolly and indistinct. “Better Marketing” is instantly achievable, and takes your business no further forward. Be very specific, exactly what action you are going to make.

Measurable. Not only to be sure when it is 100% complete, but to be able to measure progress at every step on the way. “More” is not measurable, make your goal quantifiable, and quantify it.

Achievable. BHAGs are great, but this is a short term plan, make it achievable, make it believable. You have to be able to get your head around it

Results Driven. It points in the direction you want the business to go, it makes progress in the direction you want the business to go it delivers results you want in the new business

Time Bound. Every action has a time. Clarity for what is achieved on time, and clarity when it is not.

And again break the 90 day goals down into 2-3 business goals, and one personal goal (self development, self fulfilment anything self really) and a maximum of 3 business goals, preferably all pointing to the same final achievement, ideally not interdependent. That is, ideally it is not essential for one to be completed in order to be able to complete any of the others.

Go get ’em tiger

Now, you have 12weeks to complete these already very simple goals. You should be able to make 1 simple weekly task alongside your current workload, especially if it fulfils your Why? And takes you closer to your one year target.

And, because you have chosen a SMART goal you can measure progress, week by week