We've Got the Plan... Now What?

Happy first Monday of 2021! Don’t know about you but we’re already off to the races. Over the past few months I have written multiple articles on how to prepare and get your momentum going in your business. If you are like most clients of mine, you did a great job planning and you had fun doing it. Even though it’s Day One, your plan may have already started to veer off course. Why is that?

The biggest problem we frequently see is that you have new goals and new aspirations that sound like fun to do and get everyone all fired up but the minute you opened up shop today, the same problems you’ve always fought started to arise and you reacted like normal to them. One tenet on which I try to coach my clients is that your best thinking and best decisions have led you to where you are currently. Knowing that, if your goal is to achieve something entirely different than where you currently are, you are going to have to make better decisions.

Today's tidbit is for those who feel that, despite the best laid plans, in a few weeks they’ll be off the wagon of progress and back to normal business.

How do you stop that from happening?? First, most owners struggle with delegation of duties. As it turns out, though, delegation is the best way to keep your plans moving. If you have a big plan and you have shared it with your team, break it down into parts that can be overseen by other people. The plan shouldn’t rest solely on the owners’ shoulders.

The second thing you should do is make sure you are breaking down those delegated parts of the plan into daily goals and mile markers. What do you need to achieve on a daily basis that is going to keep you on the path to making the year a success. If you start tracking the wins day by day, it is so much easier to stay on track. At the end of the year, if you won 200 out of 252 weekdays, you should have easily accomplished the goals you put in place.

Alright - you have delegated and you are tracking on a daily basis. The final thing is to create a way to keep everyone updated on the plan. This can be done in a multitude of ways. First, you could create an accountability meeting during which everyone discusses how the company is performing in accordance with the new plans. You could create a weekly or monthly accountability email that focuses in on the performance of the plan. You can even simply print out the most broken-down version of the year’s goals to keep them foremost of your team’s minds. However you decide to do it, now is the time to figure out how you’re going to communicate the plans and how you’re going to make sure you stay on pace.

If you feel like you have been spinning your wheels in your business, but you have never brought your company in for a physical to see what’s wrong, now might be the best time for you to give us a call. I pride myself on being a business owner first and a consultant second. Getting a third-party review of your business and having someone from the outside hold you accountable is crucial for most business owners. Call us today to schedule a free business assessment. We would love to partner with you to help make 2021 your best year yet.

Enjoy!