You know the importance of planning, but you’ve done okay so far without trying to plan everything. Besides, you want to make plans—you just haven’t gotten around to it. Who has time for planning? Sound familiar? However, you define success, how important is it to you? I challenge you to choose any successful person in any field and research their strategy for achieving their desired results—for getting what they wanted. You’ll discover planning was one of the keys to their success.
The Importance of Planning
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” ― Benjamin Franklin
“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” ― Yogi Berra
In today’s world, most people complain there aren’t enough hours in the day. At work, it’s easy to spend too much time on unimportant, seemingly urgent matters and put off the important activities that help you reach your goals. Or you squander time waiting for things to happen rather than making them happen. The answer is—make a plan of activities, work them, and learn from them.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.”
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Making time to plan isn’t a nuisance or a chore. It’s what gives you direction. Plans and activities seldom provide instant gratification. What they provide is a roadmap. Granted, it may be full of wrong turns, but those are opportunities to learn. Learning from your mistakes puts you closer to your desired destination.
“Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” ― Peter Drucker
“Plan Your Work For Today And Every Day, Then Work Your Plan.” ― Norman Vincent Peale
Making a plan isn’t where the planning ends. Plans based on activities will affect change—planning without action is only a wish or a hope. If you don’t have a plan, you aren’t in control of your destiny. A plan is an essential ingredient to success.
Taking the time to plan isn’t a time-waster; on the contrary, it may be THE most effective use of time. Rather than squandering time on things that don’t help you reach your goals or mysteriously waiting for success to happen, make time to plan. Planning is your map, and without it—you’re lost. Are you a planner? How important is planning to your success?
How Can I Help You?
I like to help people and organizations, but I have three criteria I consider before taking an assignment – I believe in what the organization stands for, I know I can help, and it looks like fun. If you have any questions, Contact Me.
So, does your business have a management training plan? Because, if not, many organizations, large and small, use my book, The New Manager’s Workbook a crash course in effective management, as the basis for their leadership development program. Check it out. It might help you stop putting off what you want to do.
Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash
