The 6 P’s of Planning

What are the 6P’s?

Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

What does that really mean? – Lets break that down.

Prior Preparation – before you sit down, hammering away at your keyboard and start knocking out a plan you need to have a good think about what you want to achieve when the plan has been implemented and completed.  Whatever that is, think about how will getting to that point actually make you feel about yourself and your business?

Understanding what success actually looks like for you is a crucial step in not only putting a plan onto paper but in sticking to it over time.  We are all very much aware that things can come along to trip us up. Obstacles appear as if from nowhere to derail us and shift our focus, and being really clear on where your plan is going to take you is a very helpful way to realign yourself and get back on track.

Planning – allowing yourself the time to properly work out the steps and the sequence of your plan is next.  Many Business Owners are so busy Doing the Do that they really struggle to step off the treadmill.  Many are under the mistaken belief that plans do not work.  To be honest, that’s probably true to an extent – ill thought out and executed plans don’t work.  Well thought out, well defined and well executed plans do work.

Prevents Poor Performance – taking the time to do the proper preparation and planning prevents you from going round in circles with yet another plan that has not worked out.  Understanding the steps of the plan and understanding who will perform the steps will take you a long way to achieving greater success. However, to make your plan even better, add in how you will measure your progress along the way! This will allow you to make conscious course corrections when you become distracted – keeping you on track!

Planning is a System

Systematisation of your business is a huge part of you being able to build a business that works without you.

Systematisation of a business is much more than just detailing the steps of what the business delivers to its customers.  It has to cover many other aspects of how the business runs from test and measurement systems, human resources systems and technological systems and it absolutely needs to incorporate a systemised approach to planning.    If it doesn’t then the business is just free-wheeling – with the business owner hanging on for dear life!

What system of planning is your business utilising?

At ActionCOACH all of our coaching clients are required to complete a 90 day Action Plan for their business.

At the end of each 90 day cycle we review what has gone well, understand the challenges, address what has not perhaps gone so well and work out what we will do about it in the coming 90 day period, generating a new plan for the next 90 days.

This cycle then repeats and like any system, the more you use it the better it becomes, the better you become at using it and therefore in this instance, the quality of your plans and achievements also increases.

Do you want to discuss getting a strong plan in place for your business?  If so, then great, just click the button below book a time for us to have a introductory call and we can have a discussion about what you want to achieve.