Growth seems to be universally desired but particularly elusive.
We want to be better people or have more profitable businesses, yet, there’s not always evidence that we’re working towards those goals. Sure, we may be busy, but busy and effective aren’t always the same thing. For example, we’re in a busy season of work. We’re getting tons of requests for proposals (RFP’s). We have more work than ever from a larger number of clients than ever with the largest team we’ve ever had. Growth is good, right?
Unfortunately, we haven’t taken the time to really think through how we’re handling this abundance of work. It’s like we’re just getting dodgeballs thrown at us every day for ten hours. We haven’t had the chance to stop and think about the best way to move forward. We don’t know whether we should we dodge, duck, dip, dive, or dodge the onslaught!
Taking the time to plan your next move may seem like a backseat priority when this much is happening. But it’s the people and the organizations who are able to organize this chaos that succeed in the long run.
The Counter-Intuitive
Rarely is the easiest thing to do the most appropriate. However, when you’re not thinking, just reacting, you end up doing what’s comfortable and easy.
Years ago I listened to an audio-CD my friend Miles let me borrow on the topic of talking to women (I was 19, don’t judge me). I don’t remember 99.9% of what it was about, but one thing has stuck. The author/speaker kept coming back to this idea of the “counter-intuitive.”
He would talk about how it was human nature to want to give a girl a compliment. But to avoid that, no matter what. The easiest thing to do is to give in to that pressure, the hard thing is to play it cool and act like you don’t care. This idea came in very handy when I was selling furniture. I was taught, and I taught others, to sit in that discomfort and get used to it.
In a sales situation, the last person to speak loses. If I throw out a price and ask a customer if they want to buy it, then keep talking, I never give them a chance to say, “Yes.” If I sit in silence and wait for their answer, I have given them the opportunity to agree. Not only that, but they’re not as used to that awkward silence as I am. They feel the pressure to say, “Yes,” without me actually pressuring them. The counter-intuitive says to fill that silence with arbitrary words about sports, the weather, the product, my hair, ANYTHING! The hard thing is to be patient and wait for their answer.
Strategic Planning
Business growth is expected, but not always prepared for. Personal growth is desired, but not always worked for. Spiritual growth is discussed, but not always pursued. These goals are easy to talk about, but much harder to achieve.
It’s not that we don’t want these things, we just don’t have a plan to make them come to life. As cliche as it sounds, without a plan, your goal is just a dream.
“Hope is not a strategy.”
– Vince Lombardi (attributed)
According to Wikipedia, strategic planning “is an organization’s process of defining its strategy and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue said strategy.” This isn’t a one-time occasion, strategic planning is a continual process. Large changes in your life or in your organization don’t have to happen every day, but they should be thought about and discussed frequently.
Everyone does it different and there’s no right or wrong method. Some organizations hold half day, formal meetings every week to discuss strategy. At the furniture company, we used to go to lunch every day to discuss strategy for half an hour or so. If you’re a solopreneur or just trying to get your life in order, this can be your “me-time” that allows you to think about what’s happening in your life.
The key is that you’re actually putting effort into your plans for the future. This includes 3 simple steps:
1.) Analyzing The Past. What wins have we had? What losses? What lessons have we learned that we need to put into practice? What do we do best? What do we suck at? What do we want to avoid? What do we want to do more of?
2.) Analyzing The Current Situation. What do our resources look like? How is cash flow? Are our people happy? Are we moving in the direction we want? What (if any) changes need to be made? Are we in line with our long-term vision?
3.) Planning For The Future. What does success look like? What stands between our current situation and that picture of success? Which idea(s) for growth match our current resources?
These strategic plans don’t have to be shouldn’t be an exact roadmap, they should be a compass. Just because you think something’s a good idea today, doesn’t mean you have to stick with it for years to come. That’s the whole purpose of #1, know what’s working and what’s not. Be decisive and cut your losses when necessary.
Rinse & Repeat As Needed
This process should be repeated often. As I said, different people need different amounts of planning and there’s no right answer. You have to figure out what is right for you or your organization.
If it feels like things are moving too fast and you always have too much to do, that’s the right time to stop and think about what to do next. It won’t feel comfortable and your first reaction is going to be “pushing through it.” Believe it or not, that’s the easy thing to do in this situation. When you feel things spinning out of control and you can’t handle the amount of dodgeballs coming your way, take some time to create a strategic plan for how to organize your chaos.
It will be uncomfortable for the moment, but the easy thing isn’t what produces results. It’s the counter-intuitive that will lead you to long-term success.
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Leave me a comment or chat with me on Twitter, I’d love to hear from you. Have a great weekend!
