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Get In Gear Newsletter in this issue: are you planning TOO much? |
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a personal note from CaireneI had a great time presenting Operating Instructions: Using A Manual To Simplify Your Business to SECP last week. If you attended – thanks for coming out! We had great Q&A discussion afterwards. One issue that arose was: given the importance of planning, how much is enough? As Planner Girl, at one time I would have said, “You can never plan too much!” But now, based on more recent experience, I recommend a lot less than I would have in the past.
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workshopsThe Complete Series The True Discipline of
Time Management Your Business Manual Get-In-Gear Fridays did you know?Teleclasses and workshops can be customized. If you would like to take a class (or the whole series) with a small group of colleagues, courses can be tailored to the challenges you share in common, on a schedule that works for your group. All it takes is four like-minded people who are ready to get to work. Interested? Please contact me for more information. All teleclasses and workshops include individual support between classes, an online forum for participants and graduates, and private consultation with me following the course to address individual challenges - and results are guaranteed.
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one-on-one coachingWant more individualized attention than is available in a workshop? Need help with a specific area of your business or special project? I currently have two openings available for one-on-one coaching. Whether it's making better use of your time or putting systems in place to streamline your business, gain the skills and information you need to succeed through individual training and support in the areas you want it most. [learn more]
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get in gear > are you planning too much?I am a huge proponent of preparation, especially in the administration of your business. I truly believe that “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” (Seneca) On the whole, I don’t think creative solopreneurs do enough of it, let alone in effective ways. But is it possible to focus too much on preparation? to do too much planning? I’ve been testing this in my own business over the past year and am coming to the conclusion that, yes, you’re definitely missing out on some good stuff if you spend more time developing strategy than taking action. Here are a two ways too much planning can get in your way. keep it simple, sweetheart Running a business is complex. Figuring out all the moving parts and how they work together can feel like a major feat of engineering. Of course you need a detailed blueprint. Or do you? I’ve become convinced of the necessity of the KISS principle – Keep It Simple Sweetheart. Keeping your systems simple – for bookkeeping, marketing, email, filing or whatever – keeps your planning and preparation simple. When you approach the moving parts of your business with simplicity in mind, a) you are much less likely to feel overwhelmed and therefore much more likely do the necessary preparation and b) that preparation will take less time to complete. Either way, you move into action much more quickly than if you allow yourself to get bogged down unnecessary details. Most things are not as complex as we imagine them to be. Don’t use it as an excuse put off taking action. of course it’s scary Okay, I know I just said for the umteenth time that you need to be prepared to succeed. And it’s true. You do. But at the same time, no plan will guarantee exactly how that success will manifest itself. If you have been working on a plan that never seems finished, if you never feel quite ready to implement that new element of your business you’ve been wanting to launch – you may be experiencing paralysis by analysis. If you’re waiting to get your plan just right before you take action, you have to ask yourself how well this sort of perfectionism is serving you. No plan is sure-fire. Being self-employed is about taking informed and calculated risks. Do the best you can to anticipate, then take action to test your strategies. Feel the fear and do it anyway, as they say. the design/build process In architecture, there are two approaches to designing and building a structure. There is the traditional approach in which everything is designed down to the final details before any construction begins. In this process the color of the upholstered chairs in the conference room might be selected before ground is even broken. There is also what is known as design/build. Plans are refined to the schematic level so everyone has a good idea of how the structure will function and look, but the details are refined as needed during the construction process. Structural blueprints are finalized before electrical or plumbing plans, for example. Sure, there’s a chance of overlooking something during the initial planning stages that causes a problem during construction - elements don’t fit together the way they should and have to be corrected - but that can happen with the traditional design approach as well. Despite the potential risks, design/build is often preferred because it is the faster and less expensive construction option. It’s also preferred because it is more flexible – it’s easier to respond to unanticipated realities in the field and make desired alterations should anyone later change their minds about something. take the immediate next step A big part of feeling like you have a good plan is feeling like you have gathered sufficient information. It’s an important step and I’m not suggesting you skip it, but I do suggest that you refine your sense of how much information is enough to act on. I also recommend that you consider the difference between the information you get from research and the information you get from experience. In the past six months, I’ve jumped into a offering a training curriculum, speaking, a complete overhaul of my web site, blogging and this newsletter (last weekend I dove into Google AdWords). I learning something about these endeavors before beginning, but certainly not everything there is to know. I gave myself permission to stop gathering information and take action. I affirmed that I knew enough (really, that I myself am good enough) to begin doing what I want to do now. For an organizationally inclined person like me, using a design/build approach has felt a bit counter-intuitive. But the more I just try things without having it all planned out ahead of time, the more I’m glad I’ve done so. It feels a little scary and a little irresponsible, but I am learning so much more this way. And not only do I have better information to act on, I am pulling myself forward in ways I would not be if I was still working on perfecting my plans. I am getting much closer, much faster to where I want to be in my business. So try the design/build approach in your own business. Do enough preparation to give yourself an outline, a schematic, a basic blueprint – then stop and take the first immediate step. Once you take that first step, not only will you gain momentum, the next step will be much more clear because you will have real-world feedback from the results of that first step. Then take that next immediate step, adjust if necessary, then the next and the next. Soon you will see the structure of your business quickly rise from what was recently just a hole in the ground. Learn for yourself how much information is enough. Find the sweet spot in your business between planning and doing – and take action. Need some help finding that sweet spot between planning and action? Join The True Discipline of Time Management - next class begins October 7.
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I encourage you to share this newsletter with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including my contact and copyright information. Thanks! An archive of past issues of the Get In Gear newsletter can be browsed here. Unless otherwise attributed, all material is written and edited by Cairene MacDonald. Cairene MacDonald Third Hand Works |
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