Most business planning, goal-defining, and target-setting exercises stop way too short.
- What do you want to achieve?
- How will you measure it?
That’s not enough. It’s just a well-defined wish.
No wonder the vast majority of businesses who create plans for the year to get x new clients, lift profit by $y or increase revenue by z% reach the end of the year missing the mark.
Or if they do achieve it, find themselves wondering how much of it was really by design.
You can’t achieve the “What” unless you can link it to a “How”.
I’m not talking project planning. That comes later. First, we need to take those first two steps and make it six.
- What do you want to achieve?
- How will you measure it?
- What new skills might you need to learn, or existing skills might you need to master?
- What obstacles might get in your way that are best pre-empted and planned to overcome?
- What milestones should you recognise as progress along the way, so you (and your team) will know you’re on the right track?
- Whose help will you need and who should you make sure is involved and communicated with.
That’s the Roadmap that turns a wish into a plan.
Related: The Honey Badger Tattoo