Qn: Most people make an annual plan at the start of the New year. Is it effective?
A: Strategy is different from a plan. When you are making a strategy, you are coming up with choices you will use for a long time. But what I find most ineffective is making an annual plan at the beginning of a new year without putting it into any perspective. At the end of the day, it won’t help. Have short, medium, and long-term plans.
To be most effective, begin by asking yourself; “In the next 10 years, where would I like to be? What will I have done to achieve my 10-year plan? What will you have accomplished this year to ensure that your 10-year plan is achieved?”
If you just make an annual plan that doesn’t fit into a bigger long-term plan, it is likely that you will not get there. It is more of planning. It’s not thought through.
Planning is more effective when you put the long term into perspective to guide what you are doing in short term. It’s like saying that in the long term, you would like to be one of the best investment bankers in New York. When are you going to do that? Can it be achieved within a year? Of course, it might not be achievable within a year. It requires a clear step-by-step plan.
If you are 15 years old and your dream is by 25 years you are a leading investment banker in New York, what does it take? Somebody might tell you to achieve that, study at an A-class university like Harvard University or Oxford University. That way you begin getting into the ladder of good recruiters looking for brilliant talent. It’s not just about going to that university, you must be among the top students winning scholarships, and championing new innovations and causes so that everybody gets to recognise you. You can’t wake up overnight and become a leading investment banker in New York!
If you want to achieve long-term, begin with clarity of where you want to be. What you need to have achieved in the short and medium term. You must be creating strong networks to ensure that anybody can recommend you. You can create these networks by working closely with religious institutions say a church or a mosque as a volunteer or at a leading company. These networks build a strong foundation to achieve the long term.
That is why many people who wake up and make resolutions and plans for the year remain stagnating. They never achieve their potential.
Start thinking long-term. Then beak it down.
Source: Copyright 2017 Mustapha B Mugisa, Improving Your Condition.
