| Late last century, E.B. White unwittingly penned the | | | | unless they immediately degenerate into hard work." |
| entrepreneur's planning mantra: "I get up every morning | | | | Once you have a plan, you have goals and |
| determined to both change the world and have one | | | | parameters for action - whether or not you make it |
| hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my | | | | into hard work or easy work is up to you!! The |
| day difficult." At the other extreme of | | | | important thing is to take action. |
| self-determination is the proverb: "If you don't have a | | | | You can use your plan to:o Stop chasing 'shiny new |
| plan for yourself, you'll be part of someone else's." | | | | objects' - you know what you need to focus your |
| Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard | | | | energy on to be successful.o Identify and remove |
| place! What is a smart business owner to do? | | | | inefficiencies, tolerances and frustrations - and watch |
| The bottom line is that action without a plan will send | | | | your productivity increase!o Leverage the right |
| you round in circles faster than a one-armed canoeist! | | | | opportunities and say no to the opportunities which |
| Whether it is a business plan, a project plan or a 'to do' | | | | don't fit your plan.o Prioritise daily actions that will make |
| list of daily priorities, it is essential to have a written | | | | the biggest difference to your business success - stop |
| reference point that will keep you focused and | | | | running from crisis to crisis.o Recognise and address |
| motivated. (By the way - your business plan needs to | | | | the constraints and gaps between where you are |
| be strategic and action focused - forget 50 or 100 | | | | now and where you plan to be in future.o Minimise |
| page doorstoppers - make sure you use a 5 page | | | | procrastination and maximize motivation as you see |
| "door opening" business plan instead!). | | | | results from your focused efforts.o Create stability and |
| Management guru, Peter Drucker got it mostly right | | | | sustainable decision-making practices in your business. |
| when he contended: "Plans are only good intentions | | | | |