5 Questions You must answer about your Plan

Coaching Question of the Week.

Happy 2019! What will the year hold for you?

Well like the start of any journey. You know where you plan to go, right? . And if you are good, you have your "journey" broken down into how you'll get there (what turns to make, and what the check-in points are). Hopefully, you have some idea on the timing it'll take too (how long to get from point A to point B) and some idea of what your results will look like (what are you going to do when you get there). How about what resources you need; people, dollars, supplies (where you'll source them and what they'll cost). If you are real good, you have put some plans in place for a Plan B, in case something doesn't go according to Plan A (ie. repairs to equipment, extra funds if supply prices go up, etc). You should be able to follow along this illustration above whether that journey is a road trip or your business plan. The similarity is remarkable identical.

The reality is regardless of how well we plan, something will change, new (better) opportunities arise, circumstances change, regulations and politics change, economic conditions change, people change (or change their plans and commitments) etc. Even if we stick to our plans, we may over (or under) achieve our plans. This highlights the need to have your plan written, metrics set, a timeline attached, a review plan set in place and action plans (including Plan B and C) for your targets.

Here are the 5 questions you need to have answers about your plan, be it a vacation plan for a Winter Reset & Recharge Vacation or your 2019 Business and Personal plan (Yes they should be integrated). I am also going to answer these questions from my 2019 Plan to give you examples.

Question 1: What is your overall objective / resolution / vision?

The answer here, is focused on priorities. What is your number one priority? My answer here is about ME then WE then THEM. This resolves around setting priorities in 2019 (This was my objective in 2018 too). It centers around the fact, I need to be at the top of my game, physically, mentally, emotionally to be able to best look after my family, friends, business and my community. If I'm operating at 75% because I'm not eating, exercising, sleeping, or dealing with my emotional and spiritual self, then that is less I have to offer everyone else. Think about that the next time you choose to work late or eat at the drive-thru to "save time" (not enough time is the worlds best excuse). Invest the time in you, to eat right, sleep right and exercise enough so you can give 110% everyday..

Question 2:

Do you have details in your plan. For this I mean do you have action steps, timelines, milestones, metrics, targets and alternative plans set ?

One of my action items on my ME side is getting enough sleep. After last years health gains (my new bionic back, 120+ pound weight loss, new lifestyle), getting enough sleep is still not happening for this night owl. I want to get enough sleep. My target is 7 hours of sleep 5 days per week. I'm tracking this in my calendar, I've set alarms on my phone and tablet, I have locked out my devices from WiFi at midnight every week night. (now I need to tackle the TV).

Question 3: Review your plan

Stuff Happens! I know this is true, I see it on my social media feed everyday from my "social media friends". Also it's hard to predict how well we will achieve our targets. Will we over or under achieve. Last year, I had set my weight loss at 75 pounds, so I'd be 250 pounds at July 1. It was for my back surgery and to make my recovery faster and easier. Well I hit 250 by mid May. I re-accessed, I was going to now aim for 225 for Thanksgiving 2018. Also, I was realizing some very incredible results that I had not expected from my strive to loss weight. I had made lifestyle changes around food and not just dieted, which meant I was living healthier (probably a better target than losing weight would have been and this is my target for 2019) and the resulting physical improvements were well beyond my expectations. So I raised the bar and changed the target. I did a third change when I hit 220 pounds (75 pound loss, 50% above my original target) by July 12th. (my surgery date). I then set the target continuing my new lifesytle and set a weight target of 200 pounds for year end (which was going to be my new set point). I just weighted in at 201 pounds at my first official 2019 weight in. I missed by one pound, but over shot my beginning of year target by 49 pounds. If I hadn't changed reviewed my plans regularly, I would likely be 49 pounds heavier right now and not realized all the additional health benefits of my new lifestyle. It is very important to have these regular updates (I do mine every other Friday morning at 9am). Measure often, review regularly, and make thoughtful and informed actions that align with your targets.

Question 4: Do you have back-up Plans?

We have concluded things happen. We need to create either, in advance where possible or on the fly, some Plan B's, When things we see might go wrong or right happen. This requires you to plan out your quarters, months and weeks in advance. My weeks are somewhat driven by my clients demands but I block time for my clients (and my family and my own health) and I even block 2 hours a day to deal with "what comes up" and if nothing comes up, I have a plan B to spend that time on additional business development or marketing or maybe some special ME time.

Question 5: Is your plan achievable?

I put this as the last question because I see it as an editing and evaluation piece to your plan. Once you have everything timed out and action steps for the year, quarter, month, week and day (and your hours slotted into time buckets to achieve the above). Have you given yourself enough time to achieve everything on your list? Have you set your targets too high? Are you trying to achieve too much? This is where you need to set priorities and it's time to revisit your overall objective (your prime directive). So maybe the real question here, is What is the most important priority to achieve this year? Time to revise and edit. Take note, even a target like getting enough sleep takes time to achieve. It means monitoring and reviewing and tracking. It also may mean investing in some additional tools or devices or software to help me if I struggle to get my results. Always make sure all your action steps align and help achieve your overall objective. Everything must align otherwise you are fighting yourself.

Once you run your plan through the 5 questions you should have a better plan. Also planning like anything is a skill. Some of us are better at it than others. I have spent well over 25 years improving my plan building skills and have done it hundreds of times with others as well. Don't be afraid to get help doing this. I believe that doing this with your Coach is the best way (That is what I do) . You can build it into your regular sessions to review your plan and they can even help you ensure it's achievable and they should be able to help you set them too with some independent and objective feedback. Since your plan is really what you want to achieve this year, personally and professionally, then this should be the primary thing you and your coach work on and where you spend most of your time. You can also deal with the stuff that comes up along the way that distract us from achieving our plan.

Happy 2019 - Let's plan...

Brian Crew is the founder of BricConsulting. BricConsulting helps business scale while minimizing risk and maximizing growth. Smart growth for business leaders. BricConsulting offers coaching, planning, business development, strategy, sales consulting and lead generation services.