Entrepreneurs: Hate The Plan, Love The Planning
by Miki Saxon
Planning isn’t most founders’ favorite thing.
Mainly because plans are made and remade over and over again, so why plan at all if it’s going to keep changing?
Because the most valuable part is the act of planning, not the result of it.
Planning forces you to think in depth—an often painful process that most of us would rather avoid.
For example, it is impossible to plan an upcoming product launch without considering all the things that could go wrong simultaneously with defining the steps to take and the results you seek.
The discussion (even if it’s with yourself) engendered by stating that you are going to do A forces you to consider what will happen if A doesn’t accomplish what you want or what to do if doing A becomes impossible for whatever reason (time, money, manpower, etc.)
It is plan-the-verb, as opposed to plan-the-noun, that distinguishes the winners from the also-rans and it is the verb that keeps you ahead of the competition.
Just as importantly, it’s plan-the-verb that should be pushed down throughout your organization.
This is accomplished by giving the goal to the next level down and asking them to plan how they will achieve it.
They, in turn, should create multiple goals from it and pass those down to their direct reports and so on down the organizational ladder all the way to the lowest level.
At each handoff the goal is divided again and again and each person has to plan how to achieve their part with the help of their group.
Always plan in pencil, because plan-the-noun needs to be a living organism that grows and changes, just as a tree bends in the wind to avoid breaking.
The benefits of this process are enormous.
Embedding plan-the-verb in your company’s culture means it to become a core competency.
That gives your company the ability to react far more swiftly as the waves and eddies within your industry and the economy in general constantly change your market.
Plan-the-verb boosts initiative, encourages taking responsibility and speeds professional growth, providing you with a stronger in-house bench from which to grow.
It is always detrimental to value the noun—plan, leader, manager—more than the verb—plan, lead, manage.
But these days it can be devastating.
Image credit: Robert Nunnally
