#44: What to Do When You’re Afraid to Plan
For entrepreneurs, 2020 has been quite the roller coaster.
And now that we're getting into planning season, the question is coming up: what do I do if this year's plan went totally out the window and I’m afraid to plan for next year because I don’t know what it will hold?
Tune in to hear three best practices in setting yourself up for success going into 2021:
What to let go of in order to thrive.
How a certain awareness can keep you on a forward trajectory.
And what to acknowledge that will give you a sigh of relief.
And if you felt let down by the past year, you're not alone. This episode will definitely give you a new perspective on your 2021 plan!
Check out my new free new training onwww.yournextmillion.me, where several of my seven figure clients and colleagues share what they're doing in the next year to scale their businesses to the multi-million dollar mark and beyond.
Listen to the Show:
Laura (00:00):
2020 has been quite the roller coaster for us entrepreneurs. There's been so many moments of, oh my gosh, it's working. Wait a second. What just happened? Oh no, there goes the business to, wow. that was the best launch I've ever had. And so many of my clients have moved between these moments faster than they ever have before as an entrepreneur. And now that we're getting into planning season, the question is coming up. What do I do if this year's plan went totally out the window and it was actually pointless to do the planning exercise. What they're really asking is what do I do when I'm afraid to plan, whether you're following EOS or Scaling up or any other type of strategic planning methodology, I myself use a hybrid of all of those. It is a really important question to ask yourself, am I avoiding actually creating my 2021 plan or my first quarter strategy? Because I'm actually afraid of doing something again, that was seemingly worthless. And not only did I waste my time planning, but I now am just so disappointed with myself or the world or COVID that I don't even want to face what it is that could be coming up next, because who knows what is in store in 2021, if you have any of those thoughts going on inside your mind right now, I invite you to join me as we explore the question of what do I do when I am afraid to plan.
(01:50):
So here's the challenge: so many entrepreneurs dream of leading a life of impact by creating a multi-million dollar brand, but only a tiny percentage of businesses actually scale to that point on this podcast, we speak openly authentically about what it takes to scale your business., following the journeys of innovators, disruptors, experts, and leaders, looking at the behind the scenes of their most challenging moments and greatest lessons learned. My name is Laura Meyer. And I'm your host. I'm a serial entrepreneur, wife and mom to three. I love talking all things business, especially digging into the mindset and strategies of scaling joyfully to the multi-million dollar mark and beyond. Let's go!
(02:28):
Hey there friends. It is planning season. When you look in my calendar, it is filled with strategic planning meetings. I often like to do these in person, but this year they are all on zoom. So I have long stretches of zoom time blocked with various clients throughout December. And whether or not you use EOS Traction or you use Scaling Up from Verne Harnish or whatever system or methodology, systemology you use, you are no facing. What do I do with this 2021 plan that I'm supposed to be responsible for? And so many of us were completely thrown for a loop many, many times going into 2021, not just once or twice, but several moments throughout the year in various iterations of the shifts that were happening in the world around us. We are now looking at 2021 and going, I don't know what's next. I mean, an asteroid, like what, what else could this world have in store for me and my business and the team that I'm responsible for and the income that I need to make in order to support my family? What do I do when I'm actually afraid of doing this work?
(03:51):
And I want to invite you into this conversation because I know one thing for sure is that you cannot win playing a game designed to protect yourself. You cannot win at business, playing not to lose. And when we start getting fearful and when we start holding back and playing small, because we are afraid of what is to come, that is actually when we get the very thing that we want the least, because that's what fear does. Fear creates the scattered focus, where we're doing lots of things, not very well. We're exhausting ourselves and our team, and we're getting lack luster results. So I'm going to share a couple thoughts about planning before I go into exactly what to do when you are afraid to plan.
(04:42):
The first thought is that never ever have I created a strategic plan for myself or for a client and we did exactly what was on that piece of paper. We achieved those exact result, it's never happened. So the whole point of planning is not because you're going to have all of the security around exactly what's going to happen. And now that you've put it down on paper that is the precise result you're going to get to the penny. It's never happened. The reason why we plan is because we want to have some goalposts. We want to let ourselves and our team know what we expect of one another. And when so many of us as entrepreneurs get into comparisonitis when we start looking at what everybody else is doing and wondering, why am I not getting that same result? I always invite my clients to not compare themselves to what everybody else is doing. That might be in a different niche and a different category with a different avatar and a totally different business model, but compare yourself against what it is that you said that you were going to accomplish as part of your strategic plan.
(05:50):
So not only does it keep you really focused again on what you said you were going to do and only comparing against that, but it gives yourself and your team a picture of what does winning look like? And then as you compare progress against that goalpost, we're constantly readjusting. We're constantly saying, well, that worked well or that didn't work well or, well, that went better than we thought it was going to do. let's save that for next quarter and do it even better, or, Hmm. That didn't work as well as it had in the past, I wonder why let's go back and compare it to where we previously may have done something very differently and it worked better than we realized. And then we forgot to include it this one time. So you're constantly just adjusting against that plan.
(06:40):
And the second thing it does is it invites you and your whole team to think about what is possible in the future. And when you include your team in your strategic planning process, then they're even more invested into what the result is. And not only that, but many times they show up with fresh ideas that completely blow you away. I remember when I was doing a strategic planning process when I had a much bigger team than I do now. And there was a very junior level person on our team that was a recent hire. And she started coming out with all of these really interesting, innovative ideas that I had never even realized was in her. And she was providing this incredibly fresh perspective that we ended up using as part of our strategic planning process. So, first of all, I got to see her genius in that moment that I didn't know was there because there was never really any other time in which she was able to show up that way. Second of all, now she's invested in the ideas and her peers are invested in those ideas because it wasn't as much of a top down directive, as much as it was this group concept that was formulated together, that they felt very connected to. And as a result, they were excited to actually implement in the company and measure and see what could be possible as a result of this brainstorming session. So with the strategic planning session, it's like I said, it's not always just about this, okay, we're going to cast this concept. We're going to put it down on paper and then , it automatically happens. It's more about the process of planning that is so incredibly important.
(08:29):
So the first thing to do when you're afraid to plan is to just let go of the outcome. No, that you are more connected to the process than you are the result. And just know that also that you are going to have different plateaus as a business owner. And they usually occur around 500,000, a million, 3 million, 5 million and 10 million. That tends to be the range in which I work with companies. And every single time you hit, one of those numbers, chances are you're going to need to completely rethink your value delivery, your sales and marketing strategy, the way in which you convert sales, the balancing of the different orders of business, what you work on, and when, how you manage your financial oversight, your key performing indicators, like all of that is many times reinvented at each of those different stages. And you need to customize the strategy. And when you don't actually plan, what happens is you end up playing defense in the business because something comes up. For example, maybe you have a marketing system that works incredibly well and generates more leads than your sales team can handle.
(09:37):
So it's important to think about the order in which you watch a work on the business to make sure that you never go backwards as a result of just reacting and responding to things all the time, because I've definitely been there myself, and it is not a fun place to be. In fact, I recommend being afraid of that more than I would be scared of actually going through the planning process. The second is that I want you to be really aware of the decisions that you are making because of the story that you're telling yourself about them, really watch those thoughts that come into your brain and start to kind of takeover in a very subtle way. But that end up driving strategy as a default. So some examples might be, oh, let's just partner with this person and give up a lot of control or profits or brand identity, because it'll just be too hard or too expensive or we can't do that because we don't have the right people or our customers will never buy that. Or, and every single time I hear those thoughts come up. I am very quick to question them, because my experience is that what you might dismiss as not possible, your competitor is on their way to figuring out.
(10:54):
And whenever you might say, Oh, we could never do that in that amount of time, or again, our customers would, they wouldn't invest in that. That's not what they're interested in. We make a lot of decisions about the future of our business based on our own experiences or even worse. What I like to call a focus group of one, it's that one person that you know, that one individual on your team, that person, neighbor, family member spouse says, oh, well, this is what you should do, or even worse, this is probably never going to work because I know somebody who knows somebody who wanted to buy something like that. And they realized that there was a cheaper alternative, and they went overseas and got it instead. And that focus group of one is really dangerous because it's not data-driven at all. It's based on their own perception, their own limiting beliefs, maybe even selling out of their own pocket book. It's their perception of what the customer may want or need based on their own limiting thoughts about what is possible for the company.
(12:07):
And the strategic planning process, when done well, actually busts through all of that and sheds the light on the truth of what you need to be doing moving forward, which is usually more in your past success than it is on anything that any one person thinks is, or isn't possible for your company. And finally, when you're afraid to plan, a lot of times, this comes from the thoughts that you have about both the planning process, as well as how much you can actually anticipate what's going to be happening in the next year. And while that is completely out of any of our control, and honestly who the heck knows what's going to happen in the next 12 months, having some new thoughts may help you open up your imagination to what is possible for your company. So let's try on some, some new thoughts. And when I encourage my clients to think about new thoughts to try on, I ask them to envision themselves shopping or going in their closet and trying on a shirt or a blouse or a dress and thinking to themselves, oh, this looks good. Or, nope, not for me, because what might work for one person might not be right for you, but one thing I know for sure is that those little limiting beliefs, those little thoughts that are just kind of hanging around in the back of our brains. And sometimes we don't even realize that they're there, but they show up in these subtle ways that end up very much holding us back in the business. And so let's try and some new thoughts.
(13:43):
One might be no matter what happens in 2021, I will figure it out because I always do. Another thought is I've built an amazing business and I will continue to do so. Or if you pivoted this year, I built an amazing business and I will do it again. That was a thought that I needed to choose very intentionally a few years ago when I started completely over. And it served me very well in growing my own business. I'm endlessly capable of creating whatever I want to see in the world and my capacity for growth reflection and action are valuable to others. It's okay to focus on some things that really bring me joy because that'll enable me to bring joy to others on a massive scale.
(14:35):
So when you go into your planning process, it doesn't have to be about what you feel like you should do, or what might fit into this box of what you've done in the past. You can completely come up with a whole new dream and vision for yourself. In fact, I think this is the perfect time of year to start looking at some of those new ideas that you've have really been sitting on. And you've been thinking about, and that you've been wondering, maybe this is the time to actually try it out and, and see what happens. I cannot control the future, but I have my faith in my ability to adapt to any situation and I know I will be successful regardless or of past or future hardships.
(15:19):
So yes, we cannot control the future, but you have so much ability within you and you can adapt to any situation. If you were able to pivot and shift and transform your business as a result of what came up this year, you can handle anything. And finally, as a faith based person, I love this thought, which is that God has a plan for me. And in this crazy year of 2020, that has prepared me for my greatest contribution yet. And it will happen in his time. And my job is to show up and be ready with my gifts and talents and abilities to be of service to him. And again, when we plan, when we create those mile markers, when we think about what is it that we want to accomplish so many times this new vision or new possibility shows up that we get really excited about, and I invite you to just pay attention to where you might not be totally aligned with the work that you're currently doing.
(16:24):
And I'm going to invite you into a new vision in 2021 by embracing the planning process. Now, if you've never planned before with your business, I would recommend that you start with the book Traction by Gino Wickman. That is the simplest strategic planning process that is out there for entrepreneurs. You're going to hear some terms like integrator that you've heard before that you see a lot of gurus throwing around, but that's where those terms initially came from. And they came from the book Traction by Gino Wickman. There's another process called Scaling Up That's a little bit more complex by Verne Harnish, and there's many others out there as well. I tend to use a hybrid and I tend to customize based on what I feel like my client is really up for and what would benefit them the most.
(17:15):
And again, the purpose of the plan is not that it's going to happen perfectly. It's for you to go through this process with yourself and your team in order to let them know how they can win at their jobs, how they can win within your company and to give yourself a basis for comparison, when you're thinking about, hmm, look at that person, they're doing XYZ, or look at that person. They are achieving something that I, I didn't even know that I wanted until I saw that were doing it. And that's a pretty good sign that you probably are in comparisonitis. And so remember, we cannot play a game designed to protect ourselves, we can only play a game to win when we plan big things for ourselves and our companies. And as part of this planning process, I want you to invite in what would be possible if I could feel limitless in terms of what I could build, what my team and I could create, knowing that the highest obstacle to success, wealth, abundance is what we think is what we believe that you are being called into 2021, as leaders, as entrepreneurs, as something bigger than you.
(18:35):
And if you felt let down by the past year, you're not alone, but this is the time to restore that integrity within yourself, as a leader, as somebody that has massive contribution to make to the world with your gifts, talents, abilities, with your greatest calling, because there are stories that you're telling yourself and there are results and they are not the same. So when you are going into this planning process, walk your talk, live your word, make commitments and opera integrity. And that, that is when you become exceptional. And through this planning process, if it feels like drudgery. I would invite you to think about how you're going about it, because it should feel exciting. It should feel like in the next year, we are going to make a massive difference on the world. And this is how, and if you feel excited by your business, check in with yourself on how aligned you are with your offering, because that on the other side of that, just kind of naggy feeling may be something even bigger or bolder, or even more exciting than you ever dreamed possible, but that discomfort is inviting you into that conversation.
(19:53):
And just remember, you get to choose what you bring into next year. You get to be very intentional about what you leave behind and what you create moving forward. In this coming year, as part of your planning process, get really intentional about what you stand for and know that those consistent sustainable structure, the kind of structure that comes out of a great plan will give your team the ability to win with scalable profits, scalable results, and a scalable business. Because 2020 was the year of disruption. And whenever there's disruption, there is great innovation. And all of us had a low grade tolerance for the things that were going on in our business that were never serving us that 2020 brought up. And if you were to take all those pieces and think about how you would do them differently, and what is that opportunity to rethink things and allow the next level of your creativity and your innovation to take place.
(20:59):
The question is, are you willing and able to meet that shift? And will you give license to that next calling as part of the planning process listened to your higher wisdom and ideas because they show up in those quiet spaces in those small thoughts. And a lot of times they come as quickly as they leave our brains. But within that small voice is the clarity that you need to know how to redefine success for you and your team on your own terms, going into 2021. And sometimes we can be prisoners to what took place, particularly when it was very traumatic and sudden and difficult. But all that does is create a limited opportunity for ourselves. When entrepreneurship is designed to give us the opportunity to give the world our greatest contribution. So in this planning process, move from scarcity to abundance and know when we embrace the path, that's when entrepreneurship starts getting really fun
(22:12):
Hey there, before you head out, I wanted to let you know about a free new training I have, right on a brand new website called yournextmillion.me. It's yournextmillion.me, where several of my seven figure clients and colleagues share what they're doing in the next year to scale their businesses, to the multi-million dollar mark and beyond. And I have to tell you, it is not what you think. So check it out at yournextmillion.me. And if you loved this show, will you subscribe to it and share it with a friend, or just say something nice about it to someone you know? I'd really appreciate it so much. Thanks so much for being here and I'll see you next time.
The Scale with Joy podcast dives into the mindset and strategies of scaling your company to the million dollar mark and beyond. Each week, we follow the journeys of innovators, disruptors, experts and leaders - sharing behind the scenes stories of their most challenging moments and greatest lessons learned-all while building their multi-million dollar empires.