Do you want to plan something that achieves your goals?
Setting and achieving a goal is a difficult process.
I talked about the importance of making and keeping promises in my previous post. This post talks about how to keep promises.
I’ve realized throughout the years in managing a business that if something may or may not seem as if it may go according to plan, it usually doesn’t.
That’s because there are so many different variables that can interfere with the plan.
Unexpected events may occur, budgets may be cut, and team members may fall ill.
And these these variables usually work against the plan.
We’re given two choices here.
You can blame the hitches and make up excuses for why things didn’t go as planned, or you can come up with a solution that overcomes the problem.
The bottom line is that plans need to be meticulous to the point where there needs to be a miracle for the plan to not work.
We commonly say you need to aim to score 120 points if you’re shooting for 100 points.
In work, we need to shoot not for 120 points, but for over 1000 points.
Harold Geneen quotes in his book “Managing” that people’s ability to achieve goals falls into three categories.
Let’s say that I’m a salesperson and need to hit 10 meetings this week.
Let’s follow the flow of planning and execution.
[1] A: Mediocre Achiever
Other people usually score 1 meeting per 10 phone calls.
I’ll just shoot for around 100 calls.
I guess I’ll aim for 20 calls per day Monday~Friday.
-> Even a single hiccup can result in failure.
The contact information may be inaccurate, or my success rate may be lower than others. This plan doesn’t leave any margin for error.
[2] B: Hard Worker
If success rates seem to dwindles by following strategy [1], I’ll increase the number of calls to 30 per day.
-> This plan is must better than strategy [1], but it still has a fundamental problem and is risky.
[3] C : Someone who makes it work
Assume the worst of the worst and plan to make at least 300 calls.
And prepare Plan B and C.
Seek advice from people with a high success rate and change up your opening script.
Then practice with friends and family at home.
If you’re still struggling to meet numbers, then start analyzing what stage is causing issues.
If you think your contacts are preventing you from making goal, call preexisting customers to secure additional contacts.
Draw up a mental simulation and keep trying until you succeed.
-> Prepare Plan B and C and keep going at it from different approaches until it works.
It’s easy to come up with excuses and rationalize your failures.
This is an especially easy trap to fall into if people around you are nice enough and are willing to lend an ear to your excuses.
Some people are skeptical about “Dreaming to achieve”, a recurring motif in self-development books.
While it may seem a bit wishy-washy, I think it really hits the nail on the head.
The essence of achieving something lies in being “earnest”.
It’s next to impossible to adopt C’s attitude without being “earnest”.
Look back to reevaluate yourself to see if you really have the will instead of rationalizing your mistakes and making up excuses.
