Last week we talked about setting great goals. But goal-setting is only a first step. Now you need to plan how to achieve them. Here are three reasons why planning often fails:

1. Insufficient Inputs
It’s easy to get excited about making things happen. But before you rush through the planning to start doing, best to think through what inputs you need so your doing makes sense. Customer, supplier, employee and/or peer insights might be helpful in developing a great plan. Also, don’t forget to access hard data whenever possible.

2. The Plan lacks Structure
Too many so-called plans look like a wish list: implement new CRM, open new location, release new product. That’s not a plan. A plan needs structure. It needs to identify not just the desired outcomes but milestones, timelines, individual responsibilities and resource requirements.

3. Culture is Overlooked
There is the technical side of change and the people side of change. We typically plan for the technical side, yet fail because of the people side. Both are necessary, neither is sufficient. Planning smart means planning for both.

Goals without plans are a dream. Goals with plans are a dream with a roadmap.

Your thoughts?

Michael

A New Year, new energy … time to set some business goals!

Just make sure it isn’t a hollow exercise. Too often goal-setting results in goals that go nowhere. They look good on paper but they don’t get done. Here’s why:

1. The Goals aren’t Clear
Fuzzy goals lead to fuzzy outcomes. If the goal is to form deeper customer relationships, that’s fuzzy. If the goal is to grow annual revenue per customer by $10,000, that’s clear. Deeper customer relationships may be the strategy by which you achieve the goal, but it’s not the goal.

2.The Goals aren’t Compelling
If the goals are nice-to-dos rather than must-dos, they’re not likely to happen. What makes a goal must-do? Two things: First, the prospect of a big win. “If we can supply 10,000 units in 30 days then MegaRetailer will make us a preferred supplier.” Second, the prospect of avoiding big pain. “If we can sell 10,000 units in 30 days then BigBank will let us keep our doors open.”

3.Too Many Goals
If everything is a priority don’t be surprised if nothing gets accomplished. Three goals max. And depending on the goals, one might be the max. Focus on less, accomplish more.

A New Year and new energy. Make it a goal to set great goals.

Your thoughts?

Michael

The brilliant Chinese philosopher, Chuang Tzu, wrote:

Jo of the North Sea said, ‚ÄúYou can’t discuss the ocean with a well frog – he’s limited by the space he lives in. You can’t discuss ice with a summer insect – he’s bound to a single season. You can’t discuss the Way with a cramped scholar – he’s shackled by his doctrines.‚Äù

Many businesses suffer from limited thinking because they are insular, exposed only to the assumptions, norms and ideas from within their industry.

Expand your worldview.

Brian France is the third-generation CEO of NASCAR, the premier auto racing series in the United States. He mandates that each member of his executive team attends at least two sporting or entertainment events per year, and then reports back on insights that can be applied to NASCAR. Why? I’ll bet he doesn’t want any well frogs on his team!

Your thoughts?

Michael

I always react skeptically when I hear people say, “it’s only common sense.” As if the topic of conversation is both true and well-accepted.

When you default to “common sense” thinking, that’s when your organization’s problems begin. Common sense becomes a justification for not challenging assumptions. It perpetuates the status quo and stands as a bulwark against change.

Common sense? Why on earth would you waste your time researching and purchasing flights online when a travel agent will do it for you? (Speed, options, control. Think Travelocity.) Why on earth would you buy shoes online when the fit and feel of a shoe is so important? (Convenience, selection, easy returns. Think Zappos.)

Context is everything. “We tried that and it didn’t work.” OK, but why? Because the idea was flawed or because you didn’t align people, processes and systems to make it work? “That’s not how things are done in our industry.” OK, that means there’s an opportunity to do things differently, and potentially better.

Many organizations have defied so-called common sense and have won. Don’t believe me? Ever paid five bucks for a cup of coffee at Starbucks?

The point isn’t to always defy common sense. It’s to recognize that common sense is often neither.

Your thoughts?

Michael

We are awash in potential distractions. On the one hand are the myriad communications channels through which we are seemingly ever-accessible. On the other, are the omnipresent enticements to click, connect, opine or know.

All these potential distractions are here to stay … and will only become even more pervasive.

What, then, will differentiate those who focus, persist and succeed from those who don’t? Increasingly, it will be distractability. Not simply being able to resist distractions but choosing which distractions to disregard, which to defer, and which to respond to.

At times each of us gets distracted. But how effective are we at controlling our distractability?

The next time distraction flutters her long eyelashes, smile, and ask yourself: should I embrace her now, later, or not at all?

Your thoughts?

Michael

Interested in the ongoing collapse of BlackBerry, I was reading an investigative report in The Globe and Mail when I was struck by a comment made by a company insider.

“We believed we knew better what customers needed than they did.’”

Seriously? Haven’t we seen this movie before? Successful company succumbs to arrogance and ignorance, and believes it can now think for the customer. Why is it we cannot seem to learn this lesson? Customers will do what customers will do regardless of how well you know them.

Once you believe you know how your customers will think you get lazy. After all, why ask or listen to them when you already know? The problem is you don’t know. You only think you know.

Be a scientist. Have theories about how your customers will think, then test them. Which allows you to critique and revise them. And it lets the customer think for themselves.

Your thoughts?

Michael

How does one think strategically? In short: preflect and reflect. OK, preflect isn’t really a word … yet. But if to reflect is to contemplate back in time, then to preflect is to contemplate forward in time. Thinking strategically is about contemplation. And asking questions about performance and results.

Look backward …

What happened? Why? What variables influenced what happened? Which of those variables could have we influenced? How? What would have resulted?

… and forward …

If we do nothing different, what’s likely to happen? Why? How can we influence what will happen? If we do, what is likely to result?

Why? What if? Contemplate and question. Continually. That’s strategic thinking.

Your thoughts?

Michael

Over the past year I’ve made the case in several blogs that organizations lack focus because they try to do too much. And that the solution is to do less. (And to take more time doing it!) For those of you who think that’s just some bizarre consulting theory, let me try another angle.

Inc. magazine recently brought together 11 people – the founders of very successful businesses along with top thinkers / advisors from leading business schools. They asked a simple question: What is the single most important thing you’ve learned?

Well, guess what? Evan Williams, the co-founder of Twitter and Blogger, said, “Do fewer things. The vast majority of things are distractions, and very few really matter to your success.”

Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management, who has worked with some of the largest companies in the world, said, “Choose your playing field. A lot of companies don’t consciously choose where not to play.” (emphasis mine)

Take a good, hard, honest look at all the things you have your organization doing.

Then do less.

Your thoughts?

Michael

Studying cognitive psychology helped me understand how easy it is to make bad decisions. Not because of laziness or lack of intelligence. But because of systematic biases that creep into our thinking. Here are four, highlighted by the Heath brothers in their book Decisive.

1 Confirmation Bias

We tend to seek out and spotlight only that information which confirms our existing beliefs. Instead, look for contrary evidence. Lease your beliefs, don’t own them.

2 Overconfidence

Success is fertile soil in which overconfidence can take root. So remember, what made you successful in the past could kill you in the future.

3 Short-Term Emotions

In the heat of the moment, emotions – positive or negative – can overtake reason. A simple solution: never make a major decision when you’re emotionally piqued.

4 Narrow Framing

We typically consider only a narrow range of options. Encourage a wide-mouth funnel for inputting ideas before you narrow it by testing them.

None of us is as rational as we like to think. Recognize where rationality breaks down and work to counteract it. You won’t always be right but you can make better decisions. If you decide to.

Your thoughts?

Michael

Last week I wrote that this week’s blog would spotlight a few things Millennials can do to bridge the gap with Boomers.

Change of plans.

Why? Because we were all set to cross the Grand Canyon when at the 11^th hour something came up that caused us to change our plans. Which is what can happen with your strategies.

The evening before our 4 a.m. departure we were speaking with a park ranger and learned that a water pipe in the canyon had burst the day before. Which meant that rather than carrying little water and refilling at the various water stations, we would need to carry a lot more water and be prepared to refill along a creek. And take the time to purify the water.

So we adjusted. We carried more water (more weight!), and took purification tablets with us. But if we hadn’t have gotten the intelligence from the ranger, we could have been in trouble in the 100-degree-plus heat.

Test your assumptions. Gather the intelligence. And be prepared to adjust your plans whenever it makes sense.

Your thoughts?

Michael