I love it when a good plan comes together. Heck, I love it when a mediocre plan sorta comes together. And a bad plan? Well, that’s pretty much the story of my life. But I digress.
As a planner, disaster response operations and organizational change management have been perfect careers for me. In fact, I love planning so much I have been mocked for it. How is planning a character flaw? Being a spreadsheet geek has actually proved to be a pretty successful tactic in living my dream (-ish) life.
Sure, I have had to pause on the planned path for a bit while the proverbial, or literal, bison herd blocks the road, but I always have an end destination in mind. Unless the ole intuition kicks in and screams DANGER! GO BACK! I’m a planner, not a fool.
Back in project management land, family emergencies can be the roadblock. Having a plan lets anyone pick up and back-fill until you return. Assuming, of course, you were a good team member and saved all your work in a pre-determined, and well-communicated, collaborative space. (Future topic spoiler)
And don’t even get me started on the vital importance of having a disaster response plan. I could talk for hours on that. But ditto on other people actually needing to know the plan. Probably should be invited to the planning sessions, too. See? Don’t get me started.
So, as the year draws to a close, it’s time to revisit my 10-year plan; an annual activity I enjoy immensely. I would confess it is broken down into daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly goals, but a certain acronym might come to your mind. Call it what you will, when I need a home, I call on an architect. When I need a future, I call on me.
A dream written down with a date becomes a GOAL.
A goal broken down into steps becomes a PLAN.
A plan backed by action leads to RESULTS.
–Adapted from Greg Reid’s original
Shannon Vasko is a natural-born planner with a passion for strategy and integrated communications. AI was not used for content creation. © MI Compass Services.
