Most people, when setting off on a trip, will have information and directions so that they can get from point A to point B. If you are driving, most likely, these days you will have a map from MapQuest or Google Maps with point to point driving direction. If you are flying you will have itineraries, hotel information, rental car info, and possibly more driving directions. The point is most people will be prepared and will have the necessary information and documentation to get them safely from point A to point B, even if they need to deal with delays, road closures, traffic, canceled flights, etc.
So why is it that it is commonly accepted to not have a plan to get your business from where it is today to where you want it to be next year, or in 2 years? It’s totally acceptable to people when they hear an entrepreneur say :
Oh I am just too busy with the day to day, and just keeping the business afloat to think about where it will be in 12 months. I need to think about where it will be tomorrow!
John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing posts today about “What’s the picture of your business when its done?” He says:
…without that focus on where you are headed, what the experience is that
you would like to have, you will never know if you are on track and you
will risk always serving the whims of your business rather than
building a business that serves your life.
Exactly right! Without a plan — even if it just a big picture plan that outlines where you want to be in a few years, it will be impossible for you to know if you are headed in the right direction. Everyday you will be making decisions about your business that will effect where your business is tomorrow and the next day and the next day. So if you only look one day down the road, you will have a very hard time making decisions that all focus on one common end goal. So stop, take a breath, and find the time to think about where you want your business to be. Write down some goals, and once a month re-visit those goals. Are you on track? If you take the time, I promise, you will be glad you did, and your business will be better off.
-Sabrina Parsons aka Mommy Ceo
Sabrina has served as CEO of Palo Alto Software since 2007.
