Are you planning or wishing?

Are you planning or wishing?

"A goal without a plan is a wish." Ouch. I have to tell you folks, this one's gonna hurt. Believe me, the first time I read this quote, I realized that I am a great wish-er and an occational planner. Planning and holding yourself accountable to that plan is a painful lesson in self-discipline, but it is what separates the "good" from the "great".

This email is not a sermon from high atop my ivory tower, but a personal, ongoing journey of self-discipline. I only open the doorway for you to peek into my own trials because it helps to know someone else is walking the same path. I bet I'm not alone.

Wishes

1. I want to increase my attendance this year. That's nice, but completely useless.
2.  I want to have more time with my family. Good for you, and good luck.
3. I want to get more of that free PR stuff. Alright, I think you are getting the picture.

I told you this email was going to hurt. How many times have you said things like this to your family, to your staff, to yourself? I know I often have and I have found myself disheartened each time it didn't happen. Unfortunately, you and I should not be surprised or dissapointed. Deep down we know: Wishes simply do not come true.

Plans

1. We will increase admission by 2,000 guests. We will accomplish this by finding 50 new leaders to book groups averaging 40 guests. We will search for these leaders by meeting with school teachers in person at the closest 10 schools, calling/emailling/mailing the closest 30 preschools, and personally visiting our two biggest scout councils.
2.  I will make more time for my family. I will work from home every Tuesday the next 4 months even if the farm is burning to the ground. I will make lists for my employees on Monday and shorten their hours on Tuesday to limit my labor liability while I'm gone. I fully accept this time trade knowing that I work 7 days a week most weeks anyway.
3. Get more PR. We will work on PR story ideas every other Monday for 1 hour in the afternoon and submit a story every 2 weeks. We will assign one person on staff/family to write the story after we all agree on the idea. We'll assign another person to email it to our local papers. We will track our PR coverage on a whiteboard in our public office space so everyone can see the PR hits come in.

Can you see the difference? Wishes are easy, but useless. Make a million wishes, it's free! Plans take time to create. Plans are work. Plans hold you and your staff accountable, sometimes causing public embarrassment for you or your staff when not executed appropriately. However, plans work.

Make some time this week to plan three strategies for your success. Just three. Three well-planned, well-executed strategies will be more powerful than a million wishes.

Have a great week. - Hugh