A while back, I invited subscribers to share their biggest challenges around business planning. Some answers were:
“I make great plans. But I never seem to finish carrying them out.”
“I’m a small business. My brand is ME…which means my planning is all about ME and what I’ll do. All the planning advice seems geared to big business.”
And the one that really hit home:
“I’m not making plans. I’m creating pipe dreams.”
If these scenarios resonate, you’re hardly alone.
Planning can seem like a useless exercise. We attend planning workshops, make notes on our calendars, match tasks to dates …and then nothing happens.
But as your business grows, you’ve probably been advised to get serious about planning. And yes, there IS a better way.
The truth is:
Most planning doesn’t work because we ignore the way we feel about our plans. When you make a plan for something you “should” do, you may get a deep feeling of dread. You figure, “When the time comes, I’ll force myself.”
As time goes on, you realize “It ain’t gonna happen. No way!”
For instance, I could ambitiously write “make 3 cold calls” on my planning document. But I dread the whole process. I’m not going to do it, no matter what.
Even worse, I’d be less productive. I’d feel guilty about not doing what I “should.” Guilt takes energy that would be better spent on another activity. There’s rarely just one thing you absolutely must do in order to reach success. Substitutions and changes are allowed.
With December on the near horizon, we can expect tons of advice, products, books, and templates for planning.
Stories have a unique role to play in making realistic plans. You choose a certain story type. But this time, it’s not a story about your past. It’s a story you’re telling in the future.
You could start small. Imagine it’s a holiday in 2024 and you’re meeting a new person. They ask, “How are things going?”
That’s the Storytelling-Lite version. In this week’s Strategic Storytelling podcast, I share principles of planning with stories and give you some detailed examples. I’ll be sharing more on this topic in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, go here to listen to the podcast. Don’t forget to leave a rating and a review, preferably on Apple or Spotify.
RESOURCES
The 12-Week Year by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington
Strategic Intensive Consultation for planning your business
90 Days To Complete Your Next Big Thing
Video Course: How to research your client’s backstory (and understand their motivation)