Is A Plan Enough?

OED Certifed Advisor Dana Komar discusses the need for planning, and the equally great need to revisit it to be sure it's as fluid as the world can be.

You have a plan…but that’s not enough to be successful in your business.
The only thing certain in life is uncertainty. How many times have you heard that saying? As a good business owner you know the way to manage uncertainty is to have a plan when it comes to all aspects of your business – strategy, marketing, operational processes, etc. Unfortunately, the reality is that only in the rarest of circumstances does your plan work out exactly as you want or expect it to. When this happens, it is very easy to let your pride take over and continue to forge ahead in the same direction you were going, even though it may not make sense anymore – like forcing a square peg into a round hole. This will certainly cause you to experience extreme frustration and discouragement, ultimately leading you to failure.

That is why simply having a plan isn’t enough. Your plan needs to be fluid and adaptable so that you can handle the unexpected as reality unfolds. The first thing to do is review your plan and ask yourself what could go wrong? How will you know if and when it does go wrong? You need to create observable measurements that you can use to monitor your progress and let you know if you are on the right track. Some examples are a revenue target, a budgeted cost, or a level of customer satisfaction. Come up with a list of adjustments you can make to put things back on track, depending on what could go wrong. This could include a list of alternative sales and promotion methods, other potential suppliers, or a variety of customer reward programs.

The most important things are to go through this exercise ahead of time and proactively review your progress along the way. Waiting until things go wrong to come up with a contingency plan increases your propensity to become frustrated and respond by sticking to your original plan no matter what. By preparing for a variety of circumstances, you will be in a better position to handle the situation as soon as it arises, which will allow you to maintain your momentum and focus. Just remember that in the end, it is better to be proud of your ability to adapt your plan, build on what you have already done and learn from your mistakes, rather than be proud of creating a plan that doesn’t work.