What’s your plan?
It’s easy to put off planning:
- You don’t have the time or energy to think about the future when you’re too busy dealing with the situations of the present
- It’s difficult to coordinate all the people who need to be involved in the planning process
- You don’t see the point: plans change any way
- You prefer to be spontaneous
Planning is important and only becomes urgent when people need a plan the most and find themselves unprepared—whether without a strategic plan, an emergency preparedness or response plan, a crisis communications plan, a succession plan, a contingency plan, a leadership development plan, a financial plan, a will (which is a type of plan), etc.
The thing is, planning is caring: for yourself, for your family, for your team, for your organization, for your customers, for your stakeholders, and for your community.
Planning is an act of investing the time and energy needed to take care of your people, especially amidst uncertainty.
As a leader, it’s a personal and professional responsibility to plan for and with your people.
The best leadership is the leadership that can lead in a crisis. The course you set is seldom the course you follow. Nonetheless, planning helps you and those you care about adapt course to navigate the unexpected without losing sight of your North Star. Planning prepares you and those you care about to do so successfully.
