The Way You've Been Taught To Plan is Likely WRONG

I quick research (Google) on “business planning” overall says the same-old-thing…..1 year plans, 3 year plans, even 5 year plans.
 

That worked for Columbus and the Pilgrims. They’d need something, send a courier across the sea to England and 6-8 months later, get it. No big deal if it was another few months, ok. Everything moved slowly.

It worked for Ford and Carnegie. It even worked for Jobs and Gates, but they and others changed the scope of planning.

Today’s planning has to be short-term, with shorter-term checks and balances.

Today’s business moves FAST. Planning and goals must be short-term, vision long-term. 
 

Moran and Lennington have nailed it in their book “The 12 Week Year.” They propose a 12 week plan that’s carried out through weekly plans carried out with daily execution.

And it works!

To the point behind the 12 Week Year, there might be a place for long-term planning but I’m not wasting my time imagining where.

 

I get planning. I get putting together some good what-if scenarios. I get having big hairy audacious goals. But that’s not planning. Planning is what we do to prepare to carry out those goals, intentions and aspirations.

 

And planning more than a few weeks is lazy. Pure laziness because the planners know they need to plan, but they know the 1 year plan is useless after a few weeks, even a few days. Yet, they don’t want to take the time to continuously re-engage in he planning process.

So, why waste time making a plan you know can’t be carried out?

Who can put together a plan, divide it up into quarters and expect to follow it to any extent?
 

Definitely not an engaging salesperson. It’ve been using the periodization technique describe in The 12 Week Year for over a year. Actually, I’m in my 5th 12th Week Year.It’s a game changer and I’m not sure that 12 weeks isn’t too long. Business moves fast. Competitors most fast. New opportunities come at the engaging salesperson and they come FAST.

To that end, be great-in-the-moment.