Patience in Planning

I hear a lot from folks who talk about planning for the annual goals. I plan for weekly and monthly and maybe quarterly goals. The reason? Not because I don't think long-term planning is not important. I just think, realistically, that my plans, goals and timelines (not to mention reality) will ultimately change much more frequently to predict with any accuracy the returns to be expected on an annual basis.

Now, that being said, I think you should draw up some goals to bring people together and manage expectations, but tactical plans for actually getting something done? More tactical frameworks, accountability and narrow timelines ensures it gets done.

Example...

2011: Annually, we will develop a new vertical and drive 100 qualified opportunities worth over $5M in pipeline.

Narrowly defined, tactical attack plan: This month, I will make 100 calls and perform 10 email blasts to market segments and visit 4 customers in person. I expect this to return 10 new opportunities with a net gain of 8 on a $500,000 pipeline impact. In addition, I will create a report outlining our actual market feedback based upon my experience versus our product plan for the next two releases.

Now, after your tactical plan and actions are defined... end every time by saying this: Next month, if I don't achieve the intended return on actions, I will adjust activity, resource and priority to improve. Or, if you're an idiot, just keep trying the same things every month and hoping for better results. That sounds pretty sane.

Oh yeah, and define responsible parties, individuals, groups and roles in accomplishing these tactical plans. Commit to them and hold people accountable. Make everything measurable. Cut out the fat and get lean.

Next Rant: Patience is for suckers.

Some people have told me that patience is a virtue and is necessary to not get your sights placed inappropriately. I'd say back, patience is a crutch used as an excuse by people who are lazy, not intrinsically motivated and make lot of excuses for being late or under-performing.

Patience? Do you mean to be more reasonable and stay committed, without unrealistic expectations? That doesn't have to do with patience. Reasonable and Committed means to stick to your guns, keep firing and understand that your goals and objectives wil be achieved with more ammo and target practice.

Patience? If we were patient in introducing new products to a market, then we'd wait for people to come around to value them, not capture first movers and risk competitive market presence and give-up the process for earning reputations and market leadership.

To sum it up, and tie this off... The Plans we make must be able to be followed and be actionable and methodical. This is not a stone tablet created in January for the year.

Patience is for losers. Being agile, leading great teams and working relentlessly with incredible expectations doesn't have room for patience. You be patient, I'll go be successful and rich.

Go, Make something happen.