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The Value of Planning4 min read

What is the actual value of planning. Once a quarter, a colleague and me get all our clients in a room for an entire day from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. In the morning, we work on education. Making sure our clients are getting business education of which they can mastermind, brainstorm, acquire ideas, get tidbits and discoveries of how they can take themselves and their business to the next level. In the afternoon, we work on their 90-day plan of which we get them very clear on the priorities, goals, strategies, and the action steps for the next quarter. They actually create their plan on a wall planner with all the different steps they’re going to take week in, week out, in the different areas to accomplish their goals for the quarter.

Now, there’s been a couple of occasions when we laid down the blank wall planner, of which the business owner would need to fill in. I’ve had a couple of folks actually hyperventilate when they first see that blank wall planner. Immediately, they go into overwhelm.  I’ve actually had some not even follow through on the exercise because of their overwhelm.

I have a particular client that brought his wife for the first time to work on her own business plan. When she saw that blank planner, she freaked out. She immediately went to overwhelm. However, when I spoke to him a week later and asked, “How did the process go with Kristen?” He explained to me that once she got over the overwhelm and was able to get everything from her head, put it on the plan, witnessed it all blocked out with a process, she got excited. She shared, “Now I know exactly what I need to do and I’m ready to take action. I feel very confident that I’m going to execute and achieve my goals for the quarter.” Wow, what a shift in thinking.

So where is the overwhelm? Is the overwhelm in you having everything in your head and not seeing it on paper? Or is the overwhelm in seeing the blank planner of which you now have to slow down, concentrate, and get everything out of your head and on paper? If you want to escape overwhelm and you want to get clear. Take it from your head, articulate it on a planner. Document the priorities, the goals, the action steps, plan it out, think about it, move it around to exactly what works for you. I guarantee you, when you get familiar with this process, you’ll sit back and say, “How the heck was I able to formulate a plan in my head and actually execute it effectively?”

If there’s any of you out there reading this today, that have everything in your head, not on a planner and not articulated about the steps you’re going to take, you need to shift your strategy because I guarantee, it is not fully working for you. The reason I say that, the more you have in your head, the less room you have for new ideas to come in, to take you and your business to next level. When you get it from your head and articulate it on a plan, your brain starts going to overdrive of how you can take those different action steps, take them to the next level for you to accomplish your goals. And at the same time, you leave more room in your head for new ideas to come in, so you can get better, create a better plan and achieve better results.

Now, don’t just don’t read this blog. I’m sure there’s plenty of advice out there that will give you the same instructions to take it from your head to put on paper. However, the fact is that when you document your plans on paper, you increase your chance of results by 43%. Better yet, when you get an accountability partner that’s going to make sure you do the things that you say you’re going to do on your plan, you increase your results by 73%. Those are odds that I’ll put some money on.

COACH MICHAEL DILL is an Award-Winning Certified Business Coach, global speaker, and published author. He is a proud Action Coach Franchise partner as well as the President of Power & Ice Wealth Creation a strategic leadership company that works with business owners, leaders, teams, and entrepreneurs to both develop a systematized and structured organization while accelerating their mindset, efficiencies, and effectiveness to grow both personally and professionally to achieve extraordinary results. He brings more than 40 years of business and entrepreneurial experience in his leadership, team training, and mentoring practice. Businesscoachmichaeldill.com