Ever since I was a child, I have had a bucket list of things I want to do and places I want to experience. Some of them, I’ve been fortunate enough to cross off my list; others are part of my future plans. Every year, I add new items to this list – some because of things I learn about, and some because of dreams that get bigger as I grow. One thing remains the same, however: almost every time I achieve one of my dreams, it is the result of effective planning.
Planning is something we all know we need to do. Whether we enjoy doing it another story! Some people love planning (I’m one of them), and others see it as an insurmountable task. Most people are somewhere in between.
It doesn’t really matter whether you like to plan, however – what matters is how effective your planning process is. A solid plan (for your life, your education, your business) should have three steps: strategic planning, tactical planning, and calendaring.
Strategic Planning
Do you want to visit the Greek Isles? Lose 30 pounds? Break through the next revenue milestone in your business? Write a book?
Each of these can be attained over the next year if you create an effective plan and implement it wisely.
Notice that there are two steps here – creating the plan and implementing it. Setting a goal isn’t enough. A goal without a plan is simply a dream.
However, it’s also not enough to create the plan. A plan without action will get you nowhere.
The process of achieving your goals starts with your strategic plan. Strategic planning is the 10,000-foot, high level planning that allows you to step back, take everything into account, and create your goals – and then create a high-level plan that will help you get there.
Toward the end of each year, I like to set aside some time to create my strategic plan for the coming year. This is where I get to dream a bit: what would I love to achieve? Given current trends, what do I think is perfectly achievable for my team, and how could we push it a bit further?
Once you have those goals down on paper (they do you no good in your head), take it a step further. Based on these goals, what should your priorities be? Where should you focus your time and energy, and what should be the focus of each team?
Tactical Planning
Now that you have your broad-stroke strategic plan completed for the year, it’s time to step into the tactical planning. While strategic planning is high-level, tactical planning brings it down to the 5,000-foot level.
In other words, what steps do you and your team need to take in order to actually achieve your goals?
Remember, just putting them down on paper and deciding you want to achieve them isn’t enough. Your tactical plan will give you the specific action steps that should make those goals a reality.
Several years ago, one of my bucket list items was to live part of the year in Paris, France. At the time, it seemed like it would never happen; I couldn’t be away from my team that long. How would they run the firm without me?
It was the right question to ask. It wasn’t a money issue, it was a location and scheduling issue. How could I equip my team to run things if I wasn’t physically there?
I set to work researching systems. I talked with my team to see what they felt they needed, and I watched how they worked to gain additional insights. Then, I set to work creating the systems that would allow them to function like a well-oiled machine, whether I was in the office or not.
Of course, this isn’t a one-time task, and it’s not likely to work perfectly the first time, but it made a huge difference. Not only did we become more profitable and productive (our revenues doubled, and then doubled again, all in less than two years), but it also allowed me to take time off. No more 80+ hour weeks – and eventually, I started living in Paris for part of the year and running my company virtually!
To create your tactical plan, take each of your strategic goals and reverse engineer them. What will it take to get from where you are to where you want to be?
For example: if you currently have 20 clients a month and you want to get to 35, how many new consults will you need to hold? How many sales calls and referrals will that require? What processes or new employees will your intake and sales departments need to handle that volume? What advertising, organic marketing, and client happiness activities will you need to implement to bring in the number of prospects you’ll need to convert 15 more new clients? How will your budget need to change, and will you need new team members or vendors?
As you work backward from your goal to where you currently are, you’ll see the steps that need to happen and the questions you’ll need to ask to create a strong tactical plan.
Layering Everything in Your Calendar
You have done the hard part: determined your goals, created a strategic plan, and designed a tactical plan to reach them.
Now comes the fun part (at least I think it’s fun!) – layering everything into your calendar. You may want to get members of your team on board for this part.
When does each step of your tactical plan need to happen in order to produce the results you want? (Remember, results take time. You’re not likely to see them immediately.)
Also, what kind of timeline does your team need to produce what you’re looking for? If you want a specific marketing campaign, for example, you can’t give them the information a few days or a week beforehand and expect them to produce strong content or flawless logistics. There are a lot of details involved that you might not be aware of – getting their insight can make the difference between a successful campaign and a failed one.
Once you have these insights, it’s time to layer your tactical plan and the action items into your calendar. During this part of the process, you’ll not only make sure you have all of the steps laid out, but you’ll also be able to make sure you’re not splitting your focus unnecessarily.
In other words, don’t try to do 3 marketing campaigns in the same month.
Instead, space out your initiatives to ensure that each can be achieved with excellence before you move on to the next. That doesn’t mean you should be a perfectionist and obsess over every detail, but it does mean you should give yourself and your team enough time to make sure it’s done as well as you can.
With the right plan in place at all three levels, you really can achieve just about anything you’re willing to work toward. It may take time and some trial and error, but a solid plan will help you achieve amazing things. Need someone to talk through areas of your plan with? Our strategy and specialty coaches are here to help – click here to schedule a free chat to learn more!