You’ve heard it before: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. The truth is, the failure to plan usually leads to years of aimless drift. I see it every day. As a business owner and success advocate, I work with companies and individuals who have a goal in mind but no plan to achieve it. “We want to be among the top three companies in our industry,” or “I want to be a recognized expert in my field,” they say. But when I ask how they plan to get there from here, rooms go quiet.
In my Pyramid of Success training, I teach what experience has taught me: Real progress demands a systematic approach. Why are we resistant to developing and executing a strategic, step-by-step plan to reach our goals? Maybe it’s our obsession with today’s to-do list or the hopeful belief that things will work out for us in the end. Or maybe it’s just laziness. Wanting is easy. Working is hard.
So tell me: What’s your goal? What’s your plan? And if you have a ready answer to the first question but no answer to the second, then what’s your excuse? Are you failing to plan?
Clifford A. Bailey