
You have probably heard of the 100-day action plan, perhaps you associate it with incoming politicians especially America presidents. But I don’t want to talk about politics or sound bites, I want to help you define your business planning going forward.
I’d like to share with you a simple but effective technique, we can all adapt and enjoy which helps focus our minds on the future. This is all about habits, ideas and a plan for embedding and implementing them.
So, what good habits have you practiced today? What plans for the future are you working on and how much time did you spend thinking about your future?
I ask this because, what you are doing today will show up in your results in the months ahead.
If you become preoccupied with paperwork and the minutiae of your daily routine allowing this to consume the time you have, then in 100 days from now you may find yourself frustrated as you won’t be generating the results you know you are capable of and wish to deliver.
Experience had taught me that momentum is gained over time. I have discovered it takes about 100 days for the results of my actions to really become evident.
This is why I have a 100-day plan and I wish to help you create a version of your own.
The most effective 100-day plans are flexible: some call them a ‘a plan to plan’.
My 100-day action plan consist of 8 simple headings, that I fill up with ideas and goals to create the habits, culture and most importantly momentum of my business. Here they are:
Strategy
Performance
Action
Structure
People
Culture
Personal Growth
Communication
When compiling your plan be sure to break everything down into chunks. It is important to define what you can do in days 1 to 30, 31 to 60 and so on.
If not, there is a danger of becoming carried away with enthusiasm and trying to do everything all at once. As many of you will testify from experience, whilst drive and energy are important if not harnessed and positioned correctly it can result in failure.
Structure is key and this tactic can give you this. It is best to draft your plan on one sheet of paper. Under each heading answer each question and any others that spring to mind.
Once you do you have your 100-day plan, I’d urge you to review this on a monthly basis and amend, as necessary. What happens then, is that not only do you have a 100-day plan but a rolling document which can keep you continuously moving in the right direction and embed a powerful habit into your business DNA.
John Joe McGinley, Glassagh Consulting, July 2021