Start with the end in mind

I was reminded recently that I frequently say this.

Well ,before I started to do so, I often found myself getting side tracked by  ‘opportunities’ that I had no right to invest my time and money in.

I now see this happening a lot to other people.

I find myself asking ‘Why did they do that? It’s not remotely relevant to their ‘apparent’ plan of campaign. So why do they do it?

Most of the time I am unable to work it out.

Often the reason only becomes apparent when my client and his team sit down to work out what is actually going on in their business, what needs to addressed and what sort of firm they are or want to be.

Often, I will ask them what they think their end game should look like. To assist, I ask “If you were to put your firm up for sale next year what state would it be in; what would the range of products be, and what turnover/profits would have been achieved”?

As you can imagine in most cases I get a UGH or HHHM in response.

I think it is crucial to always have in mind what your end game needs to look like. It can make all the difference, especially if you are the owner/manager of a small firm and its end value represents your sole retirement pot!

So when I am helping people at the Planning Phase I always ask them to START WITH THE END IN MIND.

A well thought out plan will provide most of the answers.

If you need any help you know someone who can help!