Defining your work isn’t always easy when you’re caught in its tentacles, as cartoonist Rob Cottingham illustrates.
Reposted here with Rob’s permission.
Thanks Rob!
Defining your work isn’t always easy when you’re caught in its tentacles, as cartoonist Rob Cottingham illustrates.
Reposted here with Rob’s permission.
Thanks Rob!
We’ve all been entangled by these devastating tentacles, but being busy doesn’t mean that you’re effective.
I wrote an email the other day to an associate and included within that email a four letter word in capitals. STOP! I challenged them to pull aside from their frantic and stressful life for an afternoon to write a one page business plan for each of the ventures they are building at present.
Years ago my wife attended a course that required the writing of a business plan. I helped her with this and we ended up with a document the size of a small novel. We were awarded first prize for this document, out of over 300 entrants, but the document was, as a working document, absolutely useless.
So these days I simply write one page business plans every year – as promoted by John McGrath of McGrath Real Estate – and it contains the following headings – Strategy, Key Projects With Time Line, Key Outcomes For Business, Key Drivers Of Success & Measurable Mile Stones – and then all I have to do is fill in the missing spaces.
I refer to this document on a weekly basis. I carry it into management meetings with me to discuss with my team. It is a living, lively working document that I adhere to and change as required while implementing. By having this plan in place it stops me from just being busy, but rather someone who is living his life purposefully. Now that’s effective.