Here at ActionCOACH Bristol, we live by this quote: ‘A failure to plan is a plan to fail’. Now, we don’t think anyone really plans for failure. But by neglecting to put any kind of contingency plan in place is, by most accounts, a surefire way to fail. Without properly prioritising, delegating and allocating time and resources, how would you expect to succeed?

Hence, a failure to plan is a plan to fail. It sounds obvious. And let’s face it, it is. But sometimes our excitement gets the better of us. Meaning we have a tendency to dive headfirst into something without sizing up the risks.

Plan Ahead

The inspirational speaker Tony Robbins famously said that success is 80% mindset. This means that with the right attitude and the right mindset you can succeed. A winning mindset is a powerful thing to have. When you face challenges with your mindset attuned, you can come back from anything.

But don’t let that 20% fall by the wayside. Because let’s be honest, if driving your car was 80% mindset, you’re still going to have 100% of your energy focusing on the road ahead. A strong mindset will get you places, but a plan will help you lay out visualise the destination.

Three Feet From Gold

Time for a story about perseverance, mindset and reaching your destination. This is taken from Napoleon Hill’s seminal book Think and Grow Rich.

In the Gold Rush days of the Wild West, R. U. Darby and his uncle had gold fever. An inclination to mine. So they set about digging. Sure enough, they found a vein of ore. So they returned home to gather the funds for the machinery required to bring the gold to the surface.

They were successful, so Darby and his uncle went back to the site to make their fortune. After a lot of hard work, things were going well. They had mined enough gold to cover their debts and were excited to start making a profit.

But the gold stopped coming. Just as soon as they had found it, it was gone. Undeterred, Darby and his uncle kept digging. On and on they went. But they found nothing. Eventually, doubt had started to set in. Ultimately, they gave up in frustration. Darby sold off the mining equipment to a junker for a few hundred dollars and they headed home, feeling like failures.

However, the junker was shrewd. He called in a mining engineer who determined that there was a vein of gold just three feet from where Darby and his uncle had given up. While Darby and his uncle left in defeat, the junker went on to make millions from the mine.

Make Plans (Or Fail)

Darby and his uncle were excited by the prospect of striking gold. So they laid down some ideas that would help them make millions. But they only planned for success and didn’t consider the direction they’d need to take to get there. When Darby’s uncle saw gold, he dug for gold. But real growth and success requires a little more than just mindset. That 20% of strategy required is make or break. Without properly identifying risks, we fail to see the opportunities that may be three feet away. Ultimately, the weight of a decision is reduced when you take time to consider the upsides and the downsides. It’s not enough to buy a mining machine and hope for the best.

Create Accountablility

You don’t need to dig gold to learn a lesson here. Just take a look at your tasks, duties and projects and ask yourself these questions:

Do I have a plan?

Do I have clear, actionable KPIs?

Have I identified the risks and put contingencies in place to reduce them?

Do I have a destination in mind?

 

Fail-Proof

You started a business to get more out of life. You had a dream and a vision. But the fact is that without a clear, considered objective and a strategy on how to get there, you are destined to fail. Don’t lose sight and get started on a plan to make your business fail-proof.

We work with SMEs to master your time, leverage your strengths and build a better business. Need to create a business plan but don’t know where to start? Our 90-Day Business Plan Workshop helps business owners like you put the foundations in place on the path to a successful, commercial enterprise that works without you.

Find out more by visiting our programmes page or get in touch today for more information on how we can help you plan for success.