Developing Action Plans

Great vision and goals are nothing without an action plan to reach them.

Backward Strategic Planning
Planning backwards chronologically from the end vision to build an action list is truly the best way to make sure you are on track to reach your goals. Using your vision paragraph make a list of objectives that you must obtain to arrive at that end.  If you used the vision worksheet this should be easy because it will probably look like a shortened version of what you wrote there.

S - Specific:

  • What are the choices?
  • What are the consequences of each choice?
  • How do you want to manage this choice?

M - Measurable:

  • Are your goals measurable?
  • Will you know when you’ve achieved them?
  •  It's difficult to know what the scope of "Writing a paper" really is. It's easier to appreciate that effort if the goal is "Write a 30-page paper".
  • Use rewards not only a prize for achievement but also as an encouragement to continue on the road to your ultimate goal.

 A - Attainable:

  • When you set a real goal for yourself, make sure the reasons you write down as to why you want to achieve it are powerful enough to make you take action consistently towards it.
  • In order to take responsibility for pursuit of a goal, the goal should be acceptable to me. For example, I'm not likely to follow the directions of someone telling me to write a 30-page paper when I also have five other papers to write. However, if you involve me in setting the goal so I can change my other commitments or modify the goal, I'm much more likely to accept pursuit of the goal.
  • Be careful not to set goals too low.  Aim for attainable goals that are just out of reach. When you accomplish one goal, you'll have the momentum to move on to the next.

R - Realistic:

  • List one of your goals
  • What are the benefits of reaching this goal?
  • What are the skills or knowledge required to reacht this goal?
  • What is your plan of action?

 

T – Time Based :

  • Pay off $5000 student loan within 5 years.
  1. Within 3 weeks develop a budget to identify how much extra money exists to apply to the loan balance.
  2. Each month afterward, apply $X amount in addition to the minimum payment to pay down the principal.
  3. In one year, if salary increases and budget allows, add $X more to pay down the principal.

Here's an example from Jet Lake's Vision:

  • A career in Helena Montana as a civil engineer
  • A modest home with 5 acres of land
  • Wife and one child
  • New truck and a boat
  • Active in church and faith community

Under these objectives list critical items that you must accomplish to get there in reverse chronological order.

A career in Helena as a civil engineer.

  1. Meet qualifications and be successful in the interview process.
  2. Finish college and complete engineering certifications.
  3. Connect with a Helena firm while in college for summer internship opportunities.
  4. Be positioned for an internship by maintaining high grades.
  5. Attend a college with a strong engineering program.

A Modest home with land

  1. Have good credit and savings for a 20% down payment.
  2. Establish good credit by staying current on all bills.
  3. Minimize debt while in college.

Wife and one child

  1. Birth or Adoption
  2. Wedding
  3. Find a lifetime companion with similar values and similar goals.

New truck and a boat

  1. Have good credit.
  2. Finish college, complete engineering certifications, get job.
  3. Establish good credit by staying current on all bills.
  4. Minimize debt while in college.

Active in Church and faith community

  1. Find a place of worship that is a good fit in Helena.
  2. Continue my faith journey while in college.
  3. Find a group of college friends that have similar values.

As you can see there will be key benchmarks that will start to overlap and help you reach all of your objectives.  These items can become your shorter term goals that you can act on a daily basis and are key items to stay focused on.  As you go through life these will be useful to refer to when making decisions. They will give you a compass at the critical crossroads you will encounter.  By adding dates and a few more specifics to these items you'll have your SMART goals.  If you align your actions to these you will vastly improve your chances of achieving your goals.