PLAN EFFECTIVELY
WHY IT MATTERS
Reaching a hard goal requires intentional and thoughtful planning. Whether it is preparing for a single day of personal work, or bringing together multiple people and large amounts of resources to focus on a project that takes large amounts of time, effective planning is often the differentiator between leaders who succeed and those who don’t. Leaders who plan effectively empower themselves to accomplish great things. Their planning allows them to do what they say they will do, how they say they will do it, when they say they will do it. They are entrusted to lead the most important projects and initiatives. On the other hand, leaders who can’t effectively plan work will rarely be entrusted with significant work to do.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders that plan effectively know you either take the time to plan upfront or you will have to take time to repair poor plans later on. They know that great work will always require a great plan. They are action and results oriented. However, they are patient with the planning process, and are aware of its important role in helping ensure they meet their goals. They define the who, what, where, when, why, and how of their work. They plan their work, and they work their plan.
Leaders that plan effectively plan for the long term. They understand the details of the overall vision, strategy, and direction of the organization, and use long-term planning to bring it to life. They create organizational plans for one, three, and five years into the future. Even if it changes, they know that it is better to have a long-term plan in place than no plan at all. They use long term plans to guide decisions and achieve the work in an organized and measurable way.
Leaders that plan effectively also plan for the short term. They begin each week by taking a few moments to set their work in order. When they arrive at work each day they analyze what has to be done, the priority of each task, and when each item has to be completed. Their planning efforts ensure they use each day to its absolute fullest.
Leaders that excel at planning know how to break the work that needs to be done into smaller parts. They see the linkage and dependencies between tasks. They sequence work that needs to be done in the most logical way. They assess how much time each activity will take. They match the right work to the right people. They assess the resources they need to complete their work, secure them, and allocate them in the most appropriate way.
Leaders that excel at planning ensure all plans include clear milestones, deadlines, goals, and means to measure their success. They track, measure, and report their progress and results to their stakeholders. They take plans seriously, and hold themselves accountable for following them. They refer to plans often, track their progress, and ensure they do what they have committed to do.
Leaders that excel at planning recognize that even the best plans will at times require change and tweaking. They make contingency plans to take into account the unseen circumstances that will assuredly occur once implementation begins. When plans need to change they act quickly to get the work reorganized and back on track.
BELIEFS
BEST PRACTICES
SELF-REFLECTION
WORDS OF CAUTION
Reaching a hard goal requires intentional and thoughtful planning. Whether it is preparing for a single day of personal work, or bringing together multiple people and large amounts of resources to focus on a project that takes large amounts of time, effective planning is often the differentiator between leaders who succeed and those who don’t. Leaders who plan effectively empower themselves to accomplish great things. Their planning allows them to do what they say they will do, how they say they will do it, when they say they will do it. They are entrusted to lead the most important projects and initiatives. On the other hand, leaders who can’t effectively plan work will rarely be entrusted with significant work to do.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders that plan effectively know you either take the time to plan upfront or you will have to take time to repair poor plans later on. They know that great work will always require a great plan. They are action and results oriented. However, they are patient with the planning process, and are aware of its important role in helping ensure they meet their goals. They define the who, what, where, when, why, and how of their work. They plan their work, and they work their plan.
Leaders that plan effectively plan for the long term. They understand the details of the overall vision, strategy, and direction of the organization, and use long-term planning to bring it to life. They create organizational plans for one, three, and five years into the future. Even if it changes, they know that it is better to have a long-term plan in place than no plan at all. They use long term plans to guide decisions and achieve the work in an organized and measurable way.
Leaders that plan effectively also plan for the short term. They begin each week by taking a few moments to set their work in order. When they arrive at work each day they analyze what has to be done, the priority of each task, and when each item has to be completed. Their planning efforts ensure they use each day to its absolute fullest.
Leaders that excel at planning know how to break the work that needs to be done into smaller parts. They see the linkage and dependencies between tasks. They sequence work that needs to be done in the most logical way. They assess how much time each activity will take. They match the right work to the right people. They assess the resources they need to complete their work, secure them, and allocate them in the most appropriate way.
Leaders that excel at planning ensure all plans include clear milestones, deadlines, goals, and means to measure their success. They track, measure, and report their progress and results to their stakeholders. They take plans seriously, and hold themselves accountable for following them. They refer to plans often, track their progress, and ensure they do what they have committed to do.
Leaders that excel at planning recognize that even the best plans will at times require change and tweaking. They make contingency plans to take into account the unseen circumstances that will assuredly occur once implementation begins. When plans need to change they act quickly to get the work reorganized and back on track.
BELIEFS
- Successful leaders live by the mantra, “plan your work, and then work your plan.”
- No matter how great you think your plan is, it will be a waste of time if you don’t use it and refer to it often.
- If you can’t define how, when, why, what, and by whom the work will be done then don’t start working.
- The idea that it is better to just get to work and figure things out as you go is a trap that needs to be avoided.
- Approaching work without planning each day will sooner or later catch up with you, and it will always be at the wrong time.
- Planning does take time, but never as much time as it does to fix mistakes that could have been avoided if planning occurred.
- Don’t only take time to plan what you do know. Be sure to take time to anticipate and plan for what you don’t know.
- Gaining sponsorship for implementing your plan is just as important as creating your plan.
BEST PRACTICES
- Use feedback in your planning process.
- See work linkages and dependencies.
- Group similar work together.
- Transfer strategy into clear long-term plans.
- Lay your work out in an organized way.
- Plan for multiple tasks simultaneously.
- Create schedules of work to track results.
- Ensure the proper use of resources.
- Tie all plans back to the mission and vision.
- Prioritize the work correctly.
- Sequence the work appropriately.
- Measure the success of your plans.
- Revise your plans when required.
- Foresee possible delays and risks to your plans.
- Ensure plans contain timelines and milestones.
- Discard your plans if needed.
- Make both long and short-term plans.
- Set contingencies for your plans.
- Include goals and metrics in your plans.
- Communicate your plans to others.
- Involve others in the planning process.
- Ensure your plans are integrated.
SELF-REFLECTION
- Do I invest in planning work before it begins, or do I rush into work without a plan for what needs to be done?
- Do I assign the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the work, or do I expect it to all take care of itself?
- Do I plan for the long-term of the organization, or do I only plan for the immediate future?
- Do I begin each day by organizing what has to be done, or do I show up and rush into things without thinking?
- Do I break the work that needs to be done into smaller parts, or do I tackle and try to do everything at once?
- Do I set goals, milestones, measures, and metrics for my plans, or do I fail to put in place measures for my plans?
- Do I hold people accountable to use the plans that are set, or do I let people put aside plans as soon as they are created?
- Do I appropriately adjust plans as circumstances require, or do I change them too little or too often?
WORDS OF CAUTION
- Don’t be so dedicated to your plan that you can’t break free from it when you have to make critical adjustments or changes.
- Don’t create plans that are so in-depth and so complicated that they actually hinder the work you are trying to get done.
- Don’t try and plan every little thing, forgetting that out of necessity some work has to be allowed to naturally ebb and flow.
- We use data to plan our work more effectively.
- I see a clear link between the work we plan and the results we get.
- The ability to adjust the plan, even midstream, is a necessity.
- My manager helps translate our vision into plans in a way that leads to my personal success.
- My leader creates plans that are consistent with the organizational vision.