BLT: Planning – Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face

Tell that to Liz Truss, who received more than just a bloody nose, stepping down after just 45 days as PM with her long-term economic plans in tatters. So, if events moved that quickly for somebody at the very heart of power, what is the point of multi-year planning for everybody else?

BLT topic for discussion: Three-year plans – do you have one? Should you have one?

 Thoughts from around the BLT table

• Our company ditched its five-year strategic plan post-COVID – there was no point in having one.
• Should 2023 be treated as the new Year 0, with political uncertainty, BREXIT, and rampant inflation already baked into the system?
• Alternatively, should 2023 instead be treated not as Year 0, but as a reset?
• Focus on the controllables – use SWOT analysis to identify your core
• Alternatively/in conjunction, use PEST analysis to try to understand the effect of the macro environment on your business

External sources to consider
• The Gap and The Gain – Dan Sullivan

“Most people, especially highly ambitious people, are unhappy because of what they measure themselves against. We all have an ideal, which is like a moving target always out of reach. When we measure ourselves against our ideal, we’re in “The Gap.”

However, when we measure ourselves against our previous selves—the person we were when we set our goals and ideals—we will be in “The Gain.”

In “The Gain” we can more clearly see the progress we’ve made, and therefore will experience the happiness, confidence, and satisfaction that come from achieving—positive, powerful emotions that will motivate us to pursue new goals and ultimately become increasingly successful.”

Conclusion

When all else fails, focus on the positives and what you can control, even when (or especially when) faced by an overwhelming wave of negativism.

Too often, we measure our failings (versus where we want to be), rather than taking time to celebrate our gains  (relative to where we’ve come from).

So give thanks if you’ve made any forward progress in 2022 – at least you’re not the PM!