Put The Plan In Writing!

So you have determined to inspire your team to greatness, harnessing their loyalty & belief in a common cause. Fantastic!   But… What exactly do you want your team to do?  And… How will you make sure they are all on the same page?

Answer: Do like Doc… Write it down!

Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers giving his team the plan

A former CEO of mine tells the story of his first GM role, running a “small” division of ~1,000 employees and ~$100M in revenue for GE. In an early discussion w/his boss, he explained his gameplan for the division… and then his boss asked him one simple question: “How in the [world] do you think you can get 1,000 employees headed in the same direction if you haven’t written down the plan?”

Practical. True. And sadly, often overlooked.

Every leader should have a written plan. The format of this plan is less important that the content. In the simplest form, your plan should include:

• Long Term Vision: where are you going over the next 5-10 yrs?
• This Year’s Objectives: what does success look like?
• This Year’s Metrics & Targets: how will we measure ourselves against our objectives?
• This Year’s Priorities: what are the few most important priorities/initiatives we must deliver in order to succeed?
• If you go much beyond this, you get extra credit… but just get this far to start!

…So What? (What should I take away from reading this?)

What follows is common sense. But as Ben Franklin said “what is common sense is not common practice.”

For Leaders:

• Write down the plan. Don’t worry about making it beautiful… just get the main ideas in writing, simple bullet points on a page or two should do it.
• Share it with your team. Get their input… do they believe with the vision? Do they agree with the objectives? Do you have the right priorities/initiatives to move the needle? 

For Everyone: These concepts apply in both business & in life.

Have you ever thought about writing down the plan for the next 5 yrs of your life?  Try it… you will be surprised at the focus it provides you in your day-to-day life choices.