Why you need a plan…
I write this as I sit here in the sun - taking my work outside to write to you today - because…..why not?
We, in the northern part of our hemisphere, are starting to experience the lovely warmth of spring and anticipating the coming summer days.
Some of us may even be starting to experience a relaxing of some of the restrictions that we’ve been living with for the past 2 months.
As the weather warms and I think ahead to the summer months - approaching summer this year is unlike any other spring ever. Usually, I have things very planned out. I know which weeks will be vacation, I’ll have everything booked, kids’ camps/activities booked and it will usually be mostly all set by now.
This year, in a year where we’re unsure from one week to the next what will be open or what we will be able to do, the coming months may look very different AND my level of planning around it has shifted.
However, I’ve given some thought to what I DO know and the TYPE of summer I want to experience this summer.
Meaning, my goals are the same, but how I achieve them will shift.
And, I’m feeling comforted by this. I KNOW I will have the summer I want to have if I create a plan that will support me.
Fundamentally, it always comes down to the plan (and the intention behind the planning).
Creating a plan that I know will help me achieve a summer that will have memories, family time, family adventures, friends and family (to the extent that we can) will help me go into next Fall feeling satisfied, refreshed and that I enjoyed the most of our short summer months.
The same applies to your business & work. Have you shifted your goals for the year? or have you decided to keep them? Or maybe you are undecided?
No matter what your goals, what does your plan look like over the next few months in your business and work? What are you focusing on and what are your priorities?
Fundamentally having a 90-day plan can support you to achieve what you’d like in your business and as a leader.
Do you have a 90-day plan?
Have you decided what will be important for you, your team, and your customers over the next 3 months?
What I like to do is to consider what my annual goals are and then decide what I can do over the next 90 days to get myself closer to those goals. I like to keep this simple and highly focussed.
And, at the end of each 90-day period, I assess and create actions for the next 90-days, again, using my annual goals as anchors to helping me decide what’s important to focus on.
When it comes to moving forward, re-starting, and shifting; even if there’s uncertainty out there, you can create more certainty within, through creating your plan.
This will help you to cultivate more focus within your business and in your leadership.
What initiatives will help you end the year in a strong position? What will help your business emerge stronger coming out of this situation? What does your team need to learn - is now the opportunity for training, process improvement, etc.?
What are your customers concerned with right now; when was the last time you checked in with them?
What services or products will they need?
Coming out of the next 3 months, what would give you great satisfaction in achieving/accomplishing/or making progress on?
The 90-day plan can be so impactful to your progress, yet it’s so under-utilized and underestimated.
I encourage right now to check in with your goals for the year and then grab a piece of paper or notebook and decide what you can do over the next 30-60-90 days to move the needle closer to those goals.
Enjoy the process.
NOW is YOUR time.
Ariana
PS: if you would like support with this exercise and other planning in your business & leadership right now, reach out to me and we’ll book some time to hop on the phone together.