I love weeks like I just experienced at the 20th anniversary of Sales Mastery in Palm Springs, CA. First, I love being in an environment with 1,500 people who are there to get better at what they do professionally. I also love being there with my team from Building Champions talking about coaching with a small percentage of these elite performers.
But probably my favorite thing about the week is the opportunity to step away from my routine, reflect, connect, and plan for where my business is aimed. I love thinking about coaching for the next 20 years of my life and I also love thinking about 5 years from now when my girls will be out of high school and Max will be on his way. But my best vision casting works in 3 year windows and my best business planning is created every 90 days.
As I enter the process of drafting my first quarter 2014 planning, I thought I’d share a few questions I think about to get me thinking before I just dive into goals and tasks. I should tell you that some of these may seem soft to you… Even ambiguous. But if you can ask these of yourself, and truly think about the depth of the answers you give, you can get in a really clear space in which you then can dial in a killer 90 day simple business plan.
1. What kind of story are you writing, and who is reading it?
2. Who are you created to be?
3. What do you want most?
4. What do you love doing?
5. What are the clear steps you should be taking?
6. What right now is unacceptable to you?
7. Are you willing to break a bad habit?
8. Who is holding you accountable?
9. Am I being too careful?
There are many other questions I need to ask myself, but these are some very important ones. When I let myself get honest with the answers, guess what… I don’t start planning out things that don’t really matter. I keep my main ammunition for my primary targets. I don’t sweat the small stuff. And the less distracted I am in my daily & weekly routines.
I should mention… This strategy is rarely valuable to people who have everything together, don’t need help, and always do the right thing. I wish that we’re me, but I have to face my limitations.
Not convinced? Try it this fall and build your 90 day simple business plan for Q1. I’m happy to help you if you need it.
Coach Michael Regan 