If you want to achieve something, you need to have a plan because a goal without a plan is just a wish – as Winston Churchill said, “He who fails to plan is planning to fail”.
A plan is a list of actions which need to be done in a particular order so that a specific outcome is achieved/delivered. Identifying ‘bite-sized chunks’ as steps to the ‘end game’ makes your goals more manageable. Yes, you might not think of everything that needs doing when planning, but you will get a better idea of what the project entails. This will increase your likelihood of achieving your goals as you’ll be able to approach it step-by-step and won’t become overwhelmed.
Another reason why you should plan is that it gives you clarity about where you want to end up, i.e., you know the ‘end game’. This is vital as if things don’t go to plan, you will still be clear about where you are heading; you just need to take a different path to get there.
Some people have the outlook, “I don’t plan because things change”, but if you’ve not established an initial plan with an ideal end game, how do you know what to do when life throws some curve balls at you? Because let’s face it, that is what life does!
Bill’s Goal: Complete the London-Edinburgh-London Cycling Challenge
If you are connected to Bill on LinkedIn, you’ll know that Bill and Steve Coleman of Picture Perfect Data had a goal to complete the London-Edinburgh-London cycling challenge, and we’re so pleased to share – they did it!
However, it wasn’t that simple. They needed to make a plan as the challenge involved cycling from London to Edinburgh and back to London in 125 hours. That meant riding roughly 15 hours in the saddle every day, 182 miles with over 8500ft of climbing every 24 hours.
Bill and Steve taking a well-deserved rest stop on day two!
It was a monumental challenge, so to achieve it, Bill and Steve planned what time they were going to get up, what time they were going to begin cycling, how fast they were going to cycle, how often they were going to stop and for how long, plus much more. They also split the preparation work of delivering their overnight bags to the stopping points on the route.
Steve, unfortunately, had to have an emergency appendectomy a mere two weeks before he was due on the start line! Fortunately, the surgery went well, but what did this mean for the challenge? Well, Bill had to change his plans. He needed to work on his mindset as he would no longer have someone in the hotel room encouraging him to get up early in the morning and to be on the bike in 30 minutes. Bill needed to accept the fact that he could be doing the cycling challenge solo, with no accountability partner, motivational companion, or friend alongside him. Once Bill had accepted this fact, he changed his plan and called on others to keep him accountable and motivated during the challenge. The curveball certainly played on Bill’s mind, but Steve was determined to be in the saddle on the start line, and as it turned out – he was! But unfortunately, Steve did not complete the whole challenge due to exhaustion, he needed to pull out towards the end of day two. But as Bill had already adjusted the plan with the chance that Steve might not make the start line, he had company and support every day.
In Bill’s mind, he was always going to complete the challenge and a lot of the time on his bike was spent rejigging the plan as more curve balls were thrown at him. Including, having to look for more food as a rest stop didn’t serve enough; his own exhaustion; time lost trying to get into a shed to store bikes at 2am in the dark and exhausted and a last-minute change to the route due to roadworks adding more miles and another huge climb!
Bill and Carlo, from Holland, with their medals, having completed the challenge!
How to overcome adversity
As a small business owner, you often have plans disrupted, and life often throws you curveballs. For example, when we recently spoke to business owners about the top challenges they’re facing, they told us that Brexit, the pandemic, and staff shortages had created many unexpected supply chain issues.
But no matter what curveballs life throws at you, you can adapt and overcome to achieve your goals and here is how…
1. Accept that you will have to face challenges.
An essential first step to improving your ability to overcome hurdles is to accept that challenges are a normal part of life. It’s not a bad thing to face a challenge; it’s just something you must do. Once you shift your mindset to this way of thinking, you’ll be less overwhelmed during times of adversity.
2. Be clear about your ultimate objective.
When a problem presents itself, you may find yourself getting lost or disorganised in the problem. In this situation, focus on the ultimate objective: what you need to do differently to get to your ‘end game’.
To help motivate yourself to achieve your goals, we recommend sharing your ultimate objective with friends, family, colleagues, or on social media. By publicly acknowledging what you hope to achieve, you’ll massively increase your motivation, and there’s the added benefit of having people hold you accountable.
3. Ask for help
Finally, ask for help in challenging times. Ask a friend, colleague, fellow business owner, networking partner or even a family member to talk through how you will achieve your end game now and what different actions you need to take. People will be happy to support you, and having an honest friend give you an impartial opinion will help you to see the problem in a new light and navigate towards a solution.
Do you need help overcoming challenges?
If you’d like the help of a business coach to overcome hurdles, Bill can help. He can provide an external opinion drawing on years of experience to help you reach your ultimate objectives despite the challenges you may face.
What’s more, Bill can also help you implement strategies or chains of command to help you cope better when difficulties arise.
To get started, simply get in touch by emailing lindseybrocklesby@actioncoach.com.
