No matter what it is that you’re trying to achieve, there’s one thing that we can all agree on, the importance of having a plan is undeniable.
The expression below is 100% accurate:
“A goal without a plan is just a wish” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The importance of having a plan
To put it in simple terms, think of the situation described below.
As a company, we want to increase sales by 30%, and make sure that we increase our market share by 2%, whilst growing our brand recognition 15%.
I’ve made the example pretty vague on purpose, but these are the sorts of things we’re faced with at Social INK Digital Marketing agency. Usually, they’re even vaguer, and things like, “we want to increase revenue” are all we have to start with.
So, looking at this it’s easy to see what the desired end goal is, but there is NO WAY to tell how to get there.
Start with a plan
How can anybody in an organisation, or even for personal goals, achieve them when they have no idea how?
Simple, they can’t. And thus our goals remain just a simple wish. Something that is nice to think about and play with the idea in our heads. That’s it, that’s all it serves to do.
When you start to build out a plan, however, you can start to see the importance of having a plan. Let’s review our original situation, and make some edits.
As a company, we will increase sales by 30%, by increasing our e-commerce activities and developing new partnerships with influencers and through an affiliate-marketing network. We will increase our market share by 2% through our increased e-commerce efforts, new partnerships and affiliate-networking. All of these activities will increase our brand recognition by 15% through our focus on community building and supporting our e-commerce, partnerships and affiliate-networking.
What a difference a few words can make right?
A goal without a plan is just a wish
When we’re looking to achieve real results, it’s not enough to set lofty goals and hope for the best.
You’ll notice in the last example, the language is very specific. We will is used, instead of we want. Also, the actions are pretty specific. If everyone in an organisation, regardless of size (one-man-band through to multi-national corporation) knows the mission and how to get there, you can rest assured that they will be far more likely to make decisions that work towards that goal.
The importance of having a plan is plain to see, and regardless of whether it is in your business or your personal life, the goals and how you are going to achieve them is hugely important.
For example:
I want to lose 5 kg.
Compared to:
I will lose 5 kg by changing and sticking to my new diet and exercising every day, with a minimum of a 30-minute walk.
Which one would you be more likely to be able to make happen? For me, I use my 30-day challenge approach (like my Body Experiment) to help me stick to the plan. I’d love to hear how you set your goals and more importantly, how you plan them out to make them achievable. Leave a comment below to let me know.
