Why your 5 or 10-year plan isn't working (& what to do about it) - part 2
As we talked about in part 1 (be sure to read part 1 first if you haven’t already - here’s the link), my big vendetta against 5-10+ year plans is that they are rarely practical.
Here’s a quick summary of what that actually means:
- Something is practical if it transitions naturally into practice or action (like the pomodoro method)
- For your plan to be practical, you need to connect with it motivationally and rationally
- To connect with your plan in these two ways, you need to have the right timeline
Anyway, we aren’t going to get too much into that stuff for now (take a peek at part 1 for a full recap, instead), because today we are talking about how to create your own practical plan with the right timeline.
Which means I’ll be revealing the 3-Phase Practical Plan I use for myself and my clients.
So, let’s dig in!
The 3-Phase Plan that’s Actually Practical
The 3-phase plan I’m about to give was inspired by my mentor Michael Gerber, who once gave me this great nugget of wisdom: “Kayvon, you need to dream big, think small, and act even smaller.”
The key behind this nugget of wisdom is that it helps us break our future plans into 3 phases so we can think in the long, mid, and short term.
Here are those phases:
- The 3 Year Vision (dream big in the long term)
- The 1 Year Goal (think small in the mid term)
- The 90 Day Milestones (act even smaller in the short term)
Separating your plan into these 3 distinct phases will give you just the right balance of those two types of connections (motivational and rational) necessary to create real results. But you NEED to have all 3 phases for this to work.
If you just have the long-term vision? There won’t be enough implementation - you’ll just be daydreaming all day without any clear short-term actions.
And if you just have the short-term milestones? You might be doing plenty of implementation and feel like you’re getting a lot done, but how will you know if you’re going in the right direction?
Let’s look at what each of these 3 phases consist of, why they work, and how you can fulfill each one on your own.
Dream Big: The 3 Year Vision (Long Term)
For most of us, putting our vision out as far as 5-10 years in the future just doesn’t make sense. The entrepreneurial world (and our world in general) changes much too quickly for that!
Plus, if we put our plan out too far, we quickly lose focus and that motivational connection we’ve been talking about.
So, I’ve found right around 3 years to be the sweet spot for creating a vision that gives you that “just right” gut feeling.
To create your own 3 year vision, ask yourself: “what results do I want to create for myself and my business 3 years from now?”
Keep in mind that here are you defining WHAT you want to do, not HOW you want to do it. We’ll save the HOW for another time.
Some examples of 3 year visions include:
- Have 100 new clients
- Open 5 new locations
- Increase annual revenue 35%
Once you you’ve dreamt big and established your vision, it’s time think small.
Think Small: The 1 Year Goal (Mid Term)
Yet, only looking 3 years in the future is still pretty far out. To make sure you actually reach that vision, you need to break things down even more.
That’s why you then take that 3 year vision and create a more precise, practical mid-term version of it: 1 year goals.
This will help increase that motivational connection (without losing any of the rational connection) and help you make more short-term progress.
To create your 1 year goals, consider the type of work that needs to be done to achieve your 3 year vision. Then, take roughly ⅓ of that work from the vision, and make that your 1 year goal.
As an example, if your 3 year vision is to have 100 new clients, your 1 year goal might be to have 25 new clients.
Obviously, this isn’t exactly ⅓ of that 3 year vision.
And this is an important thing to keep in mind: likely, your first bout of growth will start more slowly. Between the initial set up, learning what you need to do, and adopting the right systems, progress will be smaller in the beginning. So, make sure you first year’s goal reflects this.
Then, as time goes by, your 1 year goals can get bigger, faster, and stronger :-)
But don’t worry about your other 1 year goals just yet! Just get your first one down on paper, and create the other two as each year finishes.
After you’ve dreamt big and thought small, you move on to acting even smaller.
Act Even Smaller: 90 Day Milestones (Short Term)
Your 3 year vision and 1 year goal push your plan closer to practicality. But on their own, they still don’t naturally transition into practice or day-to-day actions.
So, your next step is to simplify and break down your plan even more by taking each 1 year goal and dividing it into four 90 day milestones.
Now, with a clear image in mind for what you need to achieve in the long, mid, and short term, you can easily transition these images into practice with your day-to-day and week-to-week actions.
Ask yourself: How can I divide my 1 year goal into four 90 day milestones? Then, divide and conquer.
So, if my 3 year vision is to have 100 new clients, and my first year goal is to have 25 new clients, my 90 day milestones might be 4 new clients, 6 new clients, 7 new clients, then 8 (or maybe even more) new clients.
Once you have this, you can continue dividing your 90 day milestones into smaller chunks (1 month check-ins, weekly tasks, etc.) if you like.
What’s next?
Once you’ve created your 3-Phase Practical Plan, there are a few things you need to do to keep that momentum going.
#1) Have regular check-ins and change your plan as necessary.
As unwavering as we like to call ourselves with our plans, we should NOT force our plan to be set in stone. Things change, you change, the world changes. Be flexible and willing to change your plan as necessary to keep yourself on the right track.
Do this by checking in at certain points (I like to check in at the end of each of my 90 day milestones) to see if you are completing what you need to do or if you need to adjust the plan itself.
#2) Make it real and record it!
Whatever you do, please DON’T just let this plan float around in your head somewhere (then I can guarantee you’ll never get it done….).
Make it real and record it in a more permanent way. You could do this by:
- Creating a mindmap (this is my preferred option)
- Writing it in a journal
- Designing a graphic
Or whatever else works for you! Just be sure you print out whatever if you made (if made on your computer) and paste it around your house or office for inspiration :-)
#3) Make sure you can always connect in those two ways.
If at any point during the process you find yourself struggling to come up with the right vision, goal, or milestone, stop and ask yourself: “Can I connect with this motivationally? And rationally?”
If not, take some time to reevaluate and see how you can adjust things to connect in both ways.
#4) Handle the WHAT before tackling the HOW.
So far, all 3 phases of our plan have focused purely on WHAT you want to accomplish, not HOW you’ll do it.
And although many eager entrepreneurs love diving straight into the HOW, figuring out the WHAT is an essential first step. Knowing the WHAT keeps you heading in the right direction and helps you create the overall strategy you need before dipping into the HOW mode.
Work in your zone - delegate the rest
Of course, moving on to HOW and dealing with plan implementation is a whole series of articles in itself. But once you have your 3-phase plan ready, your next step is to begin doing some brainstorming about the specific actions you’ll need to actually reach each phase of your plan (like create social media ads, hire a VA, find a good coach, etc.).
Join the Simplify Profits Newsletter for innovative tips, strategies, and resources for increasing profitability, productivity, and performance.