You can’t meet your expectations without a plan

Next week starts the second half of 2020.

It’s a natural time to review the last six months and update your goals for the next six months.

A couple of weeks ago, I read an article about this (ironically, while on a break during my paid group’s all-day mid-year planning meeting).

The author shared that he was readjusting his expectations for the rest of 2020, but not planning because he didn’t know what the rest of 2020 will bring.

I was on board until the second part.

I understand the idea behind what he shared: 2020 has had many unexpected things that resulted in many of us making significant adjustments to our second quarter plans.

The temptation is not to plan for the third and fourth quarters to avoid this frustration and stress.

It reminds me of this quote:

If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.

Stephen R. Covey

Here just some of what I’ve seen happen when my clients don’t have a plan (this happens to me too):

  • Programs or courses that they don’t need are purchased and only half completed.
  • They feel frustrated because they don’t know their priorities, so they don’t know the most important things to complete. Instead, they have a bunch of stuff that feels like it needs to be done NOW.
  • They’re disappointed when reviewing the year because they didn’t make as much money or work with as many people as expected.

Planning and having goals is an integral part of having a business.

It gives you a roadmap to follow.

Let’s say you got in your car in the Chicago suburbs and expected to go to New York City but didn’t plan your route. Instead, you figured you’d drive East and probably get close.

One of two things will happen:

  1. You end up East, but hours away from New York City.
  2. You’re near New York City, but it took you a lot longer than anticipated.

If you plan your route, then your trip will go much smoother and faster. 

You might need to make adjustments based on road construction, accidents, or other things, but you’ll still get there faster with your adjusted plan.

The goal might change slightly as you go. Maybe instead of getting there on Monday, you arrive on Tuesday. Or you decide that New York City isn’t where you want to be right now and you choose to visit Columbus, Ohio instead.

The same goes for your business.

Your expectations might give you a general direction to go in, but without a plan, your business might not end up where you wanted it.

Take the time to both set your expectations AND plan for the remaining six months of 2020. Adjust as needed each month and you’ll be a lot further at the end of the year.

After all, you can’t meet your expectations without a plan.

If you need help or direction for setting your expectations and planning, comment below and let me know. We can set up a time to talk about how I can help you with that.