The idea of planning being important to life or business success is nothing new. In fact, it seems redundant to write another word about the topic.

But the statistics of business failures continue to rise. Why? For the most part a lack of planning.

Planning in business, as in life, is a strategic choice. You must choose to plan; to manage your time and activities to meet your goals.

According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, planning is as “the establishment of goals, policies, and procedures for a social or economic unit.” Most of us fit the definition of both social, and economic units, so we need plans.

Planning is done on a continuum from simplistic to complex. Some people make the decision not to plan, “to let life just happen, to take one day at a time.” This is, in fact, a plan. Others choose to plan their life years in advance, and in great detail. Most of us fit somewhere in-between.

The Bible abounds with examples of planning from Genesis to Revelation. God left nothing to chance in creation; it was all planned in great detail. And thank goodness, scientists say that the balance of life on earth is so delicate that if the earth were a few miles closer to the sun, we would burn up and if a few miles further away, we would freeze. Yet, with all the planning of planetary placement (Genesis 1:16), and the continuum of life from beginning to end (Revelation 22:13), God knows the number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:7)!

There are dozens of planning “models” available to business people today. Regardless of the type of model, you choose the important thing is to choose; to make planning a strategic choice in your business.

When planning for your business (your life, or your family), it is easiest to think of planning in two increments of time; short-term (for up to a year), and long-term (for over a year).

Within each of these time frames it is important to understand that planning is a process, not an event:

• In the short-term, what happens this morning may affect plans for this afternoon. Changes in today’s business may affect plans for tomorrow, next week, or next year.
• In the long-term, changes over the past few years will likely affect plans for the next five to ten years, or even longer.

Plans set a course to a destination. Like a sailboat on the open sea, every movement of the rudder is designed to get the ship to the desired destination, despite detours caused by winds or currents. Your plans must be like the rudder of a sailboat, constantly changing, constantly keeping you on course, always getting you just a little closer to your destination.

Nehemiah’s Long-term plan

Nehemiah provides an excellent model for how we should plan.

Nehemiah first received word from his brother, Hanani, that those who had survived the exile and gone to Jerusalem were in great trouble, and that the city was in disrepair (Nehemiah 1:3).

What was Nehemiah’s reaction to this disturbing news? Did he pack his bags and run to Jerusalem? No. He fasted and prayed for days for direction from God (Nehemiah 1:4-12). He then waited five months before he approached King Artaxerxes for permission to go to Jerusalem.

When he approached the king, he knew exactly what he needed. He needed letters for safe conduct and timber to rebuild the city. Nehemiah knew that rebuilding Jerusalem was a long-term project, fraught with many risks.

Nehemiah probably spent those five months planning how and what he would need to rebuild the city, and what kind of obstacles would come up and how he would overcome them.

3-Steps to a Long-Term Plan

To complete a long-term plan, you need to do three things:

• Gather information about what might happen in the future.
• Analyze the information.
• Develop long-term plans based on the information.

Specific information about the future may not be available, but a wealth of information about possibilities does exist.

The type and amount of information you need to gather depends on your plans for your business. If you are a global manufacturer, you will need to know about the countries you market to, their cultures, their economies, their politics, etc. In a highly competitive industry, you’ll want to know about your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses.

Information in the computer age is much easier to attain. Begin your research by looking for government sources, international non-government sources, national trade associations, municipal organizations, libraries, industry experts, and consultants.

Once the information is gathered, it needs to be analyzed. You need to be able to forecast “if this happens, this will be the result.” You need to be able to draw conclusions about the importance of any given possible event to your business.

Finally, you need to set a course for your business and develop strategies that will meet your business objectives. The long-term plan for your business may be referred to by a vision, a mission, a statement of purpose, or a business plan.

Make no mistake; you must have a long-term goal, a vision. You must understand what it will take to accomplish the vision, and you must plan how to accomplish the vision.

Bonus Whitepaper

This week’s post is excerpted from a 6-page whitepaper entitled, “The Importance of Planning.”

This whitepaper includes a broader discussion of the importance of planning, including:

• 4 Important Elements of Short-term Plans
• 5 Steps to Get Started Building Strategic Plans
• The Profile of an Effective Planner

You can download the whitepaper here: “The Importance of Planning.”

Join the Conversation

As always, questions and comments are welcome. Has planning been important in your life/business? If so, in what way?

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