Do You Plan to Succeed?

As I was discussing next year's goals with clients today the thought struck me that our usually-dormant "planning gene" reawakens this time of year and we suddenly hurry to put down on paper what we wish to accomplish in the new year.

For whatever reason many business owners suddenly feel very prophetic in December and know exactly what they will do for the next 12 months and commit their entire year's Plan to memory - or at least it seems that way since they never actually review their plan after about the 2nd week of January...

The problem with the scenario above is that the fit of inspiration you feel in December doesn't help you succeed in June - or July - or October. It makes you feel better in December but that's about it. You've created a Plan to fail when you only commit to the planning process once a year.

Instead, create an annual Plan in December but review it every 90 days and make course corrections as necessary. Certainly your competitors are going to make adjustments throughout the year, your customers' needs and wants are going to shift and your suppliers are going to change their products and services.

So smooth out your "Success Planning" by creating an Action Plan in December to provide you guidance for the year, and then review and adjust at the end of each quarter to account for conditions that have changed. You'll find that you are much more likely to score touchdowns with a consistent gameplan focused on getting first downs than if throw a "Hail Mary" whenever you need more points.

So, what do you want to accomplish in the first quarter of 2008...?