Tag Archives: plans

Time to Act

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time to act ext on wooden cubes on a wooden background“It is easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting.”

I’ve seen this insight, and variations thereof, credited to a number of different people — probably because of the innate truth of the statement. And yet, how often do we as leaders get so hung up on developing our plans . . . to change the culture, to launch a new initiative, to pursue a strategic direction . . . that we never really get around to doing anything.

Now let me be clear, I am a big proponent of plans (as anyone who works with me can attest). According to Google, the definition of a plan is “a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something; an intention or decision about what on is going to do.” The end result of the effort is to do, to act . . . not to create the perfect plan!

Have you ever had a plan thrust on you from some external source and thought the concept probably made a lot of sense to someone sitting in an office somewhere, but from a practical application standpoint it was not possible/made no sense/had numerous unintended consequences? Yep. What do you think the chances are that someone has ever had that thought about one of your well-crafted plans?

That is why it is better to view plans as fluid, living documents. Get a basic understanding of your end goal, get the project rolling, and then adapt as you get new information. Act your way into a new way of thinking. Because here’s the deal . . . there is no way to anticipate all of the variables you will encounter at the beginning of an initiative — no matter how much time and effort was put into developing the plan. Detailed plans may make us feel better . . . rigidly sticking to them, however, may actually diminish our results.

I can’t tell you how many times we have encountered totally unexpected opportunities because we acted, and then were willing to adapt our plan along the way. Hear me loud and clear, adapting a plan doesn’t mean the plan failed . . . it means the plan moved you to the point that you had new information with which to make a better decision.

Get clear on your end goal — your intent — and then yes, identify the best that you know at the time, along with the unknown but important variables, to develop a plan. Don’t expect it to be perfect. Expect it to be enough to start, to move you in the right direction. And then . . . it’s time to act.

Side Roads

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Winter road into forestAhhh, best laid plans. They really are amazing, aren’t they? Such a shame that they rarely work out the way we intend. And when that happens (because it will happen . . . maybe not every time, but it will happen), the leader’s response reverberates throughout the entire organization. Do you slam on the brakes and wring your hands over the roadblocks before you, or do you merely take your foot off the accelerator long enough to find the nearest side road to get you where you’re going?

It all depends on whether your focus is on the route or on the destination. Theoretically, it is easy to say we need to focus on the destination, but oh how we love our routes. The plans that we spend months creating, convincing ourselves that we have considered every option and have selected the best course. We have developed the metrics, the timelines, the budget, and even a few scenic overlooks along the way. With so much investment in the route, it seems foolhardy to abandon all that effort, even if you encounter a few red flags or flashing signs along the way . . . right?

I have two words for you. Side roads. I’m not saying you shouldn’t identify a route up front. Fast and easy is always lovely if you can make it work. I am saying that you also have to remain nimble enough to shift gears and take some gravel roads if that’s what it takes to reach your destination. Sure you may have to take a few deep breaths, you can even have a momentary pity party for the demise of your beautiful pre-planned route, but then you need to scan the horizon, consider alternate paths to reach the end goal and then pick one and go.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. Side roads can be filled with hidden gems and opportunities. They may even turn out to be a shorter and faster than the well-paved road you originally identified. Side roads are easy to miss you unless you’re looking for them, but if you listen to your people, it is likely one of them has an idea of where they are located. However, they are only going to speak up if they know that the route truly is secondary to the destination . . . when they know that changing course isn’t seen as “failure” but rather doing what it takes to get the job done. Do your people know that?

I like a good plan as much as (and at times maybe even more than) the average leader, but I’ve also driven enough miles to know that sometimes the side road is the best path of all. So the next time your best laid plan is going up in smoke, take a deep breath and a hard look at where you’re trying to get to . . . and then I’ll see you on the side road.