Today’s world comes at us so fast that it almost seems as if the speed of change prohibits planning. Less than 20% don’t think so. The work of today’s service professionals mirrors this. Pick an area where your prospective customers have problems, and help them fill those needs goes the mantra of today’s consultant.
- It is too scientific – some of the greatest examples of success are often told for their lack of schooling – Bill Gates from Microsoft, Dave Thomas of Wendy’s fame. Is it an academic issue… or an issue of hard work and common sense? The educators comment among themselves about how many people have put into practice the subjects that their doctorate dissertations cover, and how many of those ventures fail. Don’t you have to have a Harvard degree or be a member of some famous consulting firm to have the smarts to do planning? Doesn’t look like it.
- It takes to long – this is probably true. But, it does not need to take as long as it currently does. Using new strategic planning tools such as graphic facilitation, have shown to shorten meetings by 24%. These new processes make consensus of the group move from 58% to 79%. We, as humans, think visually and some of these new methods have been proven to tap into the human thinking process.
- It is too expensive – as practiced by most people that are doing planning, this is often the case. But a few companies have adopted the new visual/graphic process for their planning and are seeing huge benefits in speed, communication and direction. For every Procter & Gamble, or General Motors, who use the new processes, there are also others who don’t want their competition to know about these cost saving tools.
- It never gets used – a builder has a strategic plan that gets used a lot – it is called blueprints. A ships captain has a strategic plan that gets used a lot – navigational maps. A professional football team has a strategic plan that gets used a lot – a play book.
Don’t make excuses anymore for not planning. Plan it all before you act!
Could you also share some practical guidelines? Or personal examples maybe
One example that I lived and had to suffer for my lack of planning was the relationships area. I don’t know what was in my head. Why to plan anything from before, why to make a set a qualities I want to find in the beloved one, why to plan something that I would not actually use, why to stop myself and pay attention to such a plan? All those were my questions. Actually all of them were just self justifications to be where I were. And I did big mistakes. I latter suffered and besides me there were others that suffered.
This is just one example from my life. There are others
Well… yeah, you chose the most difficult area to plan, into my opinion. It is a great challenge to follow the plan when emotions and butterflies start filling your space.
One preacher said last week: “When you give your heart away, you lose your mind”.
And I believe that a relationship that will end in marriage is a planned relationship, one full of wise and difficult choices. If you go with the flow there is no guarantee.
Lord, keep our eyes open!
Those days I read in Visioneering by Andy Stanley, that a visioneer is not happy just with his vision and waits. Even if his vision is not applicable at that moment, he should plan as if it does not exist that thing that stops him from fulfilling his vision.
Ioa you said about marriage and that it needs planning. And you are so right. I was thinking those days about that. What would I do if I would know 100% the she is the one? What would be my steps? I have to think very seriously about that.
Visioneering is “Cultiva-ti viziunea”? I am reading that book now. And Andy Stanley’s preaching changed my life.
yes, it’s the same book, that’s the Romanian title. I have 2 couple of dvd with his preachings from North Point Community Church. God talked to my hart through Andy, and changed my like as well