Do you have big plans for 2020 and beyond for your business?  We all do!  And we make these plan with great intent.  Its early in 2020, only a few weeks in and some of us are already wondering how we are going to achieve our plan.  If you find yourself and/or team in this place here are 6 steps to help put your plan back on track:

STEP 1 - Dream Big – in working with teams large and small – they do not seem to dream big enough.  We need to set a big goal that are 10+ years away.  Jim Collin’s coined this long-term goal – a BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOAL - a BHAG – a 10-30 goal that you don’t need to know who you are going to get there but just that you want to get there.  What is you 10+ Year Goal?  Go ahead GUT IT OUT – just write it down.  If you don’t you won’t ever challenge it or achieve it. 

 Now what does this have to do with your plan for 2020.  A whole lot!  If you don’t know where you want to end up – it’s really heard to know what to do this year and what decisions to make in the short term, today, to ensure we end where we want in the long term.  We really need to write this down on in a short sentence – written as a goal – with no numbers.  I know – no numbers can’t be a goal – right?  Wrong – for now – I want you to describe where you want to be in 10 years for yourself or your company.

STEP 2 - Stepping Stone – if that is where you want to be in 10+ plus years – where do you need to be in 3 Years time to make your 10+ year goal true? Now we want to be specific and answer the follow questions:

• What will the top line Gross Revenue be for the year ending 2023?
• How much cash do you want in the bank for the year ending 2023?
• What is your 3 Year Highly Achievable Goal(3HAG)? Describe what your business will be in you achieve the numbers in 2i. and 2ii.  GUT THIS OUT AS WELL.  It will feel good to write this down.
• What are the 3-5 key capabilities you will need to have in place in order to achieve the above? These are tactical BIG capabilities that you and your team need to be in place in order to achieve the above.
• What do you want to be known for in 2023 when you achieve the above? There is no right or wrong answer here – just good thoughts that will help guide who you want to grow the business into.

STEP 3 - 1HAG – this your 1 Year Highly Achievable Goal! If you know what your 10+ year goal is and you know your, near term goal – your 3HAG – what is your 1 Year Highly Achievable Goal.  Now I know you don’t have to gut this out.  Most teams already know what they must do.  What I want you to is articulate it in a sentence like you did with the 3HAG and BHAG.  We should start gaining some confidence that we can now see where we are heading:

• What is your forecasted top line Gross Revenue, Expenses, Profit and Cash be for 2020?
• What are the number of “widgets” - the things you need to move through your business in order to make the Forecasted numbers above true?

• What are the top 3-5 Corporate Priorities you need to get the team focused on to make achieve the above? Who owns these priorities?

 STEP 4 - FY2020-Q1 Corp Priorities – What does the company need to deliver in the next 90 Days to ensure you are on track for your 1HAG, 3HAG and BHAG?

• What is your forecasted top line Gross Revenue, Expenses, Profit and Cash be for FY2020-Q1?
• What are the number of “widgets” - the things you need to move through your business in order to make the numbers in above true?
• What are the top 3-5 Corporate Priorities you need to get the team focused on to make achieve the above? Who owns these priorities?

STEP 5:  FY2020-Q1 Individual Priorities – what do you need to deliver in the next 90 days to ensure the company wins – achieves their 90 days Corporate plan that lines up to the 1HAG, 3HAG and BHAG?

• Each leader creates their priorities aligned to the Corporate Quarterly Goals.
• Each leader shares with the other leaders their goals and how they aligned.
• Each leader meets with their team to share priorities and have their team create their priorities and measures for their roles until is have cascaded out to the whole company.

STEP 6: Evolve the Plan – so as we a few weeks in to 2020 and we are feeling already off the plan – don’t change what you wrote down to start the year but create a “rolling” plan that keeps up with the market changes and the internal team executing.

 This might sound like a lot of work or just crazy but its one of the best things to do to keep the plan alive, the team driving forward and making the 2020 plan a reality!! DON’T WAIT!  GUT IT ALL OUT NOW and you will feel better that you did!!!