At ActionCOACH Bristol, we live by this quote: ‘A failure to plan is a plan to fail’. We don’t think anyone plans for failure. But neglecting to put any kind of contingency plan in place is, by most accounts, a surefire way to fail. How would you expect to achieve your goals without putting in the work to prioritise, delegate, and allocate time and resources?
Sometimes, our excitement can lead us to overlook the importance of planning and assessing risks. While it may be tempting to dive headfirst into a project, successful people take the time to plan and consider potential risks through a SWOT analysis. By neglecting to do so, we increase the likelihood of failure.
Strategic planning is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. It enables you to respond to changes in your competitive environment and make strategic decisions to gain a competitive advantage. The power of strategic planning comes from exploring the transformative power of strategy to pave the way for long-term success.
Why Plan?
The strategic planning process allows you to prioritise tasks, allocate resources effectively, and identify potential obstacles. An effective strategic plan requires looking at your business objectively to understand its current state and desired future state. This process involves setting strategic goals based on your strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. With clear goals and objectives, you can then develop actionable plans to allocate resources and achieve desired outcomes.
Plan Ahead
The inspirational speaker Tony Robbins famously said that success is an 80% mindset. This means that with the right attitude and the right mindset you can succeed. A winning mindset is a powerful thing to have. When you face challenges with your mindset attuned, you can come back from anything.
But don’t let that 20% fall by the wayside. Let’s be honest, if driving your car was 80% mindset, you’ll still need to use 100% of your energy focusing on the road ahead. A strong mindset will get you places, but a strategic plan will help you plan the destination.
Three Feet From Gold
It’s time for a story about perseverance, mindset and reaching your destination. Napoleon Hill’s seminal book Think and Grow Rich states the following:
“In the Gold Rush days of the Wild West, R. U. Darby and his uncle had gold fever. An inclination to mine. So they set about digging. Sure enough, they found a vein of ore. So they returned home to gather the funds for the machinery required to bring the gold to the surface. They were successful, so Darby and his uncle went back to the site to make their fortune. After a lot of hard work, things were going well. They had mined enough gold to cover their debts and were excited to start making a profit.
But the gold stopped coming. Just as soon as they had found it, it was gone. Undeterred, Darby and his uncle kept digging. On and on they went. But they found nothing.
Eventually, doubt had started to set in. Ultimately, they gave up in frustration. Darby sold off the mining equipment to a junker for a few hundred dollars and they headed home, feeling like failures.
However, the junker was shrewd. He called in a mining engineer who determined that there was a vein of gold just three feet from where Darby and his uncle had given up. While Darby and his uncle left in defeat, the junker went on to make millions from the mine.”
Make Actionable Plans (Or Fail)
The prospect of striking gold excited Darby and his uncle. So they laid down some ideas that would help them make millions. But they only planned for success and didn’t consider the direction they’d need to take to get there.
When Darby’s uncle saw gold, he dug for gold. But real growth and success require a little more than just mindset. That 20% of the strategy required is make or break. Without properly identifying risks and opportunities, we fail to see the possibilities that may be three feet away.
Ultimately, considering the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a decision through strategic analysis reduces the weight of that decision. Just buying a mining machine and crossing your fingers won’t cut it. A strategic plan requires thoroughly analysing your internal and external environment to make informed decisions.
Create Accountability
You don’t need to dig gold to learn a lesson here. Just look at your tasks, duties and projects and ask yourself these questions:
- Do I have a strategic plan with clear goals and objectives?
- Do I have clear, actionable KPIs to achieve desired outcomes?
- Have I explored the opportunities and threats in my business environment?
- Have I identified risks and put contingencies in place to reduce them?
- Do I have a destination in mind and a strategy to get there?
- Am I tracking progress to reach my strategic goals?
Without clear accountability through measurable goals and regular progress reviews, it can be all too easy to get off track. A strong strategic plan creates alignment across your organisation and accountability at every level to execute the strategy.
Fail-Proof Your Business
Strategic planning is a cycle of assessing your business environment, setting strategic goals, making plans to achieve them, executing those plans, and then tracking progress and adjusting as needed. It may seem like a lot of work upfront, but the payoff is immense. The time and resources invested in thoughtful strategic planning are far less than the cost of failed ventures down the road.
Keep your sights set on making 2024 a successful year by starting the strategic planning process to make your business fail-proof. An effective strategic plan requires commitment, but the payoff can be huge in terms of increased competitiveness, higher productivity, and reduced risks.
We work with SMEs to master your time management, leverage your strengths, and build a better business. Do you need to create a business plan but don’t know where to start? For owners, like you, our 90-Day Business Plan Workshop helps you work on SMART goals to build a strong foundation for a successful enterprise that can run independently.
Visit our programmes page or get in touch today for more information on how we can help you explore the transformative power of strategic planning for long-term success. With over 25 years of experience, our business coaches are experts in strategy development to help you gain a competitive advantage.
