31 Dec A very simple planning framework

A friend reminded this week that she launched her small business last year (yes, during the pandemic), after reading this article. She applied the simple framework below, and was amazed when it worked.

What felt like a vague and big idea, suddenly became doable.

Here it is in five simple steps:

1) What does good look like in 12 months?
(STRATEGIC VISION – more or less)

2) What does good look like in 90 days?
(SHORT-TERM GOAL)

3) What do you need to design, build, and deliver in the next 90 days to make it more real?
(SHORT-TERM DEVERABLES… aka “stuff”)

4) What do the next 90 days look like?
(PLAN)

5) Who will help design, build, and deliver the 90-day plan?
(TEAM)

Why this works:

Simple structure makes us think and feel better. And it’s a virtuous cycle: when we feel better, we think better. Then we can add more methodology and complexity… if we need to.