Plan Your Day - Start at the Top

Start at the Top

The purpose of this brief article is to present a recommended approach to improved day to day and long range planning. It starts with your Mission and Vision.

During a recent workshop, I had the good fortune of being hit with an epiphany sparked by the excellent speaker - Ms. Sissy Franks of Alexandria, Louisiana. The discussion centered on goal setting within organizations and how often we neglect to “start at the top” with the organization’s Mission, Vision and Values when planning. Reflecting upon her presentation, it occurred to me just how critical and rational it is to start with the Mission, Vision and Values.

As with many executives, my early road to development is pitted with “nay-sayers”, cynics, and pessimists who never realize the value of truly having and living by a Mission and Vision statement and a list of core Values. To this day, I still know organizations that have no written Mission and Vision statement. Based on my new and improved respect for the necessity and utility of these inspirational declarative statements, this amazes me. I wonder how these organizations are able to effectively plan.

Operationalizing the Inspiration and Direction

I have always been a planner; I mean I have ALWAYS been a PLANNER.

Until recently, however, my goals and objectives were pulled from thin air or more often dictated by the most urgent, pressing task of the day or month. By luck these goals sometimes mapped to the overall purpose and vision of the organization.

Now I always start with the organization’s Mission and Vision statements, because, as Ms. Franks so eloquently put it, you can never fault anyone for acting on the Mission and Vision of the organization. It is the answer to the quintessential questions, “Why?” or “What made you do that, or say that or decide that?”. 

My planning period is at the end of every day. I go straight to the organization’s website and print the copy and paste the page that includes the Mission, Vision and Values right into my plan for the following day. For my own edification and because I know repetition leads to learning, I list the key concepts included in these three statements. I perform this every day.

Next, I plug in the goals of my projects - routine and special. (By the way, with me everything that competes for my time is a project and is treated as such). Any goals that do not readily map directly to key concepts in the Mission, Vision and Values for the organization are scrutinized and deleted or revised if necessary. From here, I begin to cascade my objectives, tasks or accomplishments followed by standards and measures for each.

Checklist for My Daily Planning

Each day, I use the checklist below to ensure that I cover all of my bases when developing a new work plan or revising an existing work plan. I am certain I have ommitted steps that much more insightful planning gurus deem critical, but I hope you find it as handy as I have.

Did you...?

• Copy and paste the Mission, Vision and Values at the top of your Daily Management Plan & Report
• List the key (or core) concepts included in the Mission, Vision and Values.
• Cascade your projects' goals up to the list of key concepts. Document.
• Delete or revise any goals that do not readily cascade to a key concept. Document.
• Cascade your objectives, tasks, activities or accomplishments down from your goals. Document.
• Calendar your objectives, tasks, activities or accomplishments.
• Define your standards for each objective, task, activity or accomplishment. Document.
• Define your measurement or evaluation strategy. Document.
• Calendar your measurement and evaluation dates.
• Follow the plan. Document.
• Evaluate the plan. Document.
• Adjust as necessary. Document.
• Close the project with a definitive close. Document.
• Calendar report writing dates.

Michael is an experienced CEO, CFO and advisor with over 25 years' experience as chief financial officer, chief executive officer and board member. He concentrates his areas of expertise in global healthcare, international music and entertainment, health and aesthetics, hospitality, construction and real estate and the cultural arts.  

He is a licensed certified public accountant, certified fitness professional, clinical specialist in global health and more. Michael has a passion for international business and healthcare. As such he is fluent in Italian (B2), French (B2), Spanish (A2) and Portuguese (A1) and is a certified educator of foreign language by Arizona State University. He and his wife have three children and make their home in Louisiana. Reach him at [email protected] to begin a conversation.