Planning to Plan?
Office Space. Classic. Beloved. And one of the most quoted “work” related movies ever. In fact, we can probably recite quote after quote (without using Imdb we might add), but by far our favorite was not really a quote, but a new Initech slogan: “Planning to Plan”. (We also love: “It's not just about me and my dream of doing nothing,” but that’s an entirely different blog.)
And it always gets us thinking. Oh, the irony. Because what makes that statement so funny, so ridiculous is that companies can so often get stuck in that endless and mind-numbing cycle of “planning to plan.” As marketers, we’re big on strategy and laying the groundwork for success. Planning really is good. That ole cliché “those who fail to plan, plan to fail” is certainly true on many accounts. In fact, we wholeheartedly work with clients on 3 key things:
Vision: The vision is the big picture. It defines everything from the top down. It tells you why you are doing what you do every day in your business. It’s the destination on the roadmap to creating the business of your dreams.
Strategies: Once you know what your customer wants, you formulate a strategy to fulfill that need. Strategies are processes based on proven concepts that you know work. A strategy is a map of how to get to your vision.
Tactics: The tactics are the steps you take to implement the strategy. It’s what you do every day that lead to tangible results. Tactics are the steps you take to follow the map that leads to your destination.
Great, right? BUT, sometimes we can find ourselves in a state of “planning and focusing” rather than “doing”. So we say just get on with it and MOVE. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Expect to make mistakes. It’s an inevitable part of doing business and the more you get done, the more mistakes you’ll make. You can learn from mistakes, and hopefully avoid making the s
ame mistake twice, but you’ll keep making new ones. The only way to avoid making mistakes is to sit at your desk not doing anything… but that would probably be a mistake too!
