By plan, I don't mean have some idea in your head about your business or your career. When I say plan, I mean have a REAL plan. A written plan... that you work on frequently.
People always ask me how to get started on their plan. It is really quite simple. For my planning processes, I like to use what's called heuristic, or backward, planning. I learned it in the military. Basically, you start with your objective in mind and then work back to where you are now.
Heuristic planning can be distilled down into three basic steps. Let's take a look at each...
* Step One: Identify Your Overall Objective
Hopefully, you've incorporated your passion into your overall objective. That objective can be anything from getting a job in a new industry or new company to owning a major league sports team. Whatever it may be, just make sure it is something you're passionate about and that it is defined. Once you've identified your overall objective, you can begin the processes of achieving it!
You need to be specific about defining the objective. What constitutes success? How do you define failure? What are all of the components of the objective that you want to achieve? Truly understanding the answers to all of these questions will help you develop your plan more effectively.
* Step Two: Determine Intermediate Milestones and Supporting Tasks to Reach Each Milestone
For any objective you identify, there will be many milestones. And for each milestone, there will be many supporting tasks. For instance, if your objective is to find a job in a new industry, say real estate, then you'd have many potential milestones that could include:
1. Obtaining some level of formal or informal education about real estate
2. Developing an understanding of the different jobs available
3. Conducting a self-assessment and comparing that to what you've learned about the industry to determine the roles for which you'd be best suited; and
4. Developing a structured network to assist you in finding, closing, and excelling in your new job.
These are just a few potential milestones. Based on your ultimate objective, there can be many, many milestones, and they need to be individually mapped out. Many milestones can be worked on simultaneously. For instance, you might be getting your formal education in real estate at the same time you are increasing the size of your network in the real estate industry.
For each of your milestones, there are supporting tasks that must be accomplished. The supporting tasks are basically all of the actions you need to accomplish in order to reach your milestone. The more specific you are in identifying tasks and timing for them to be completed, the better you'll be able to track your progress.
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About the Author:
After winning season two of "The Apprentice," Kelly Perdew spent 2005 as an Executive Vice President in the Trump Organization. Today, Kelly is President of ProElite.com, an online social network that provides tools for combat sports enthusiasts. He is also a Managing Director for Angel Venture Partners, a venture capital fund that collaborates with leading angel groups across the country to invest in early-stage ventures. Kelly is author of "TAKE COMMAND: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump." A percentage of the sales royalties from that book's sales are donated to the USO.
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