It (Almost) Never Fails

While flossing my teeth this morning I recalled my late mother’s expression “It never fails.”  I decided to write this blog about my top three list of things that never fail, well almost never fail.

Of course, top of mind and number one on the list:

1.     The last piece of dental floss in the container is too short to be useable – Unless you are a dental floss savant, this “never fails” is based on pure luck.

The second “never fails” applies to most amateur golfers:

2.     A golf ball that strikes a tree on either side of a fairway will (almost) always bounce away from that fairway – While this “never fails” has an element of luck associated with it, a golfer could improve their odds by being coached and taking lessons with a PGA professional.  As their ability to hit a golf ball where they aim increases, they will reduce the number of trees hit.  By the way, a great golf KPI is number of fairways hit.

Number three on the list of “never fails” is about, unfortunately, most business owners and their businesses:

3.     A business owner without written plans will fail to reach their business and personal goals – My colleagues at ActionCOACH and I have witnessed too many businesses that have grown organically, without plans.  Before I joined ActionCOACH I had several turn-around engagements.  Every company I worked to rescue exhibited a lack of planning.  The effect of lack of planning was a major reason they arrived in a turn-around situation.

Our ActionCOACH clients benefit from our planning culture.  All my clients have some, if not all of the following plans:

o   90 Day working on the business plans

o   Classical business plans with budgets, cashflow, revenue and expense projections

o   1, 3 and 5-year Organization Charts

o   Hiring plans with trigger benchmarks

o   Marketing plans

o   And others

As the expression goes; “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

The benefits of planning are numerous:

• Plans, especially written plans, have a very high correlation with success.
• Plans are essential if you have a team.  They communicate your goals and engage your team toward goal achievement.  Simply put, plans help you, and your entire team get leverage of skills, knowledge and time.
• Plans inoculate your business against failure.  While there are no guarantees, planning certainly stacks the desk in your favor.
• The process of producing and maintaining your plans is just as important as the actual plans.  It is a major part of your responsibility as a business owner to create a success environment for you and your team.
• And many more.

If your business is not about to require a rescue, it is not too late to become a proactive, planning high-achieving business owner with an exceptional business.  The choice is up to you, don’t plan to fail!

Should you choose not to plan to fail, my colleagues and I at ActionCOACH will be happy to assist you on your path to business success.  Simply contact me or your local ActionCOACH.

Finally, please let me know what some of your top “never fails” are in your comments to this blog.