It’s old and it’s cliched but it is true. If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. Organisations that don’t have a plan tend to meander and falter rather than stride forward with confidence. It’s the leader’s job to lead the planning.

Planning is often neglected or done poorly because it takes time, it’s challenging and many don’t know where to start. Many of our clients are starting to think about what 2013 and beyond will look like for them. Some are putting plans in place based around our VISION Planning methodology. Here it is in a nutshell.

V – literally stands for vision. Imagine a picture of a bright future.  What does it look like? You need to be able to describe it to others so they can share in it.

I – represents insight or intelligence. Get the facts on where you are currently placed. Be brutally honest and search for the truth.

S – is for strategic priority. What are the five most important areas of your operation that will help you get to your vision? Not 35, not 15, but just five. These are the ‘pillars’ that will support your vision.

I – is for implementation. Break each of the five areas down into bite sized chunks. Prioritise the chunks and launch a 90 day project for each. When that’s done, move on to the next most important one.

O – means ownership. Allocate responsibility for each project to a Project Leader and Project Team. They will own the result. Progress on each project should be reported on every four weeks. This will drive ownership and accountability.

N – is numbers. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Attach key performance indicators in the form of numbers and measure your progress. Numbers don’t lie!

One of the foundations of effective leadership is ACTION. Leaders get things done, they mobilise people and resources and produce results.

The VISION Planning approach takes discipline and commitment, but it works!