DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?
Last year's goals, back again
None of this means you are bad at planning. It means the plan was never built into how the year runs. Each of the eight steps deals with one of these.
This year's goals have gone somewhere, and nobody quite knows where.
Next year's plan is a number, not the year you actually want.
Eleven goals on the list, and none of them done.
"Grow the business" is on the list again.
The plan didn't survive the first busy Monday.
The diary was full before the plan was written.
Three weeks in, the first goal slips.
Plans don't fail in January. They fail in March.
WHAT YOU END UP WITH
A plan you will actually look at in March
Use it on your own, or with your directors or partners: each of you does steps 1 and 2 alone, then you spend a half-day together on the rest. The guide includes the agenda and a simple decision log.
A plan on a page for each goal
Ten plain lines, from why it matters to what you will do every week and who you will tell. If you can fill in every line, you have a plan.
Your year on two pages, filled in as you go
Your answers carry through to two summary pages, with a tracker for the end of each quarter. Print them and bring them to every monthly hour.
A rhythm that keeps the plan alive
A weekly 15 minutes, a monthly hour and three fresh starts, booked in your diary before you close the guide.
INSIDE THE GUIDE
Eight steps, one half-day
1. Look back
20 minutes. What happened to this year's goals, and why. The reason tells you which step you need most.
2. Picture a good year
20 minutes. A short note from next December, about the business and about you.
3. Choose two or three goals
20 minutes. Check each one is yours, and put the rest on a "not this year" list.
4. Write them so you could finish them
30 minutes. Five parts, six real rewrites, and what disappointing, good and great look like.
5. Work back from December
25 minutes. Quarter by quarter, to one thing you will do every week.
6. Find the hours
15 minutes. Can your week afford your goals? If not, decide what to stop.
7. Plan for what could stop you
20 minutes. One "if, then" for the likeliest obstacle, and a five-minute pre-mortem.
8. Keep it going
15 minutes. A weekly 15 minutes, a monthly hour and a fresh start each quarter.
Bring your plan on a page to a free call
Forty-five minutes on Zoom, with your plan or the goal that keeps coming back. We spend the time on your plan, not on what I sell. If working together would help, I will say so once, at the end, and you are free to say no.