| Like most people we have plans for our businesses. | | | | 60 percent of their planned financial results! Executives |
| Strategic plans, budgets, succession plans and the like. | | | | typically cannott wait to get back to their comfy |
| The real question is do you have a plan for your life? | | | | corner offices and fight the fires they have become |
| I have thought about this time and again meeting and | | | | accustomed to. It is ingrained in them. That is what |
| working with executives who have taken on new | | | | they think get paid for. |
| roles in their organization or taken on a new role in | | | | Nope. You are wrong. You get paid to execute the |
| another organization. They plan. They spend hours and | | | | strategy. How much time do you spend on that? How |
| days planning. They plan with others and they plan on | | | | do you tie that to your own goals and strategies for |
| their own. They plan the business from top to bottom. | | | | your life in all of this? Do you have a life in all of this? |
| Then they unleash the behemoth on the company. We | | | | This is actually where the rubber hits the road for |
| wont go into the success or otherwise of this exercise | | | | executives. Most fail to recognize this. You need to |
| today. | | | | look at what you are expected to do and figure out |
| The one thing they dont consider is planning for | | | | how you do it and have a life. |
| themselves. Planning their lives. Now I am not a life | | | | It is not that difficult. Just not done too often. Here is |
| coach or therapist but youd think that some where | | | | my approach. |
| along the way they would have figured out they | | | | Sit down with a pen and paper not your PC. You need |
| needed a plan for their own actions. I say actions | | | | to think and doodle a bit. |
| because a plan is pretty useless unless its acted on. | | | | Ask yourself what were you really proud of achieving |
| People often have goals. Woopee. Setting goals has | | | | last year? |
| become the thing to do in business today. People will | | | | On the work front and non work front what was |
| sell you courses on setting goals. People will coach you | | | | great and downright awesome? |
| in setting goals. HR folks chase you down until youve | | | | What did you really foul up last year? |
| filled in their form, decided on a set of goals and had | | | | Things that youd gladly never hear about again. Gotta |
| them signed off. | | | | be a few things |
| Wonderful. The problem with setting goals for a | | | | So if you look at those two lists, what can you learn |
| person is there is often no basis on what to set goals | | | | from them? |
| for. OK lose weight, increase my salary, win an | | | | From the good and the bad. Yes we often learn more |
| promotion etc. Well what do you base these goals on? | | | | from our failures than successes. |
| I have seen business coaches, trainers and HR folk | | | | List those learnings. |
| giving people a form and saying give me your goals | | | | Be proactive, stand up for myself, voice my opinions, |
| for this year. Guess what? Whatever is written down | | | | keep quiet until I know all the facts, etc. |
| is hooey and will never do a thing for anybody. All it did | | | | Write three of them as life lessons for the way you |
| was place a check mark in a box. Listed goals. Good | | | | would like to be this coming year. |
| boy, Sit. | | | | Be powerful, positive, in the present and very personal. |
| Having said all that, its actually vital that you do in fact | | | | List three values you associate yourself with having |
| have goals but its the process of getting you there | | | | Decide what roles you have to participate in this year. |
| thats going to make the difference between a basic | | | | As in be a Board member, CEO, boss, friend, mom, |
| exercise and you actually achieving them. | | | | dad, etc |
| So what does that mean? | | | | Then which is your role of prime importance for the |
| Well in business strategy we may follow the time | | | | coming year |
| honored a SWOT analysis or Porter Analysis and | | | | Write three goals for each role you selected. Or more |
| budgets. We may even be more creative, who knows. | | | | You should have about 25 of them. |
| The fact of the matter is there are tools and | | | | Select your top ten |
| programs designed to help this. We take the top team | | | | Write them as SMART as you can. Specific |
| off to a great resort spend a few days whip a plan | | | | Measurable Achievable Realistic and Time Specific |
| into shape, often with the help of some expensive | | | | (next year). This can be a topic of a whole article. |
| suited consultant. Send off to the financial guys to | | | | Goals are usually very poorly written. Write yours up |
| model, make spreadsheets that cant be interpreted | | | | and e-mail me for some critique! |
| but look as if some real thought went into the whole | | | | Put it all on a single page use abbreviations if |
| process. Jazz it up and get the Board to support it. | | | | necessary |
| As professionals what do we do? What is our role in | | | | Write up action plans for each. Set intermediate |
| this whole caboodle? Yeah we sat through the | | | | validation points and a time table. Check it weekly and |
| weekend, played a few rounds of golf and swore blind | | | | monthly. |
| this was the year we wouldd exceed all expectations. | | | | Go out and achieve personal; and corporate success |
| Sound familiar? Yeah no wonder HBR has articles | | | | Sound intimidating? It should not be. |
| stating corporations typically achieve between 30 and | | | | |