What Happens When You Don't Plan

Today I got a call from an old friend who is
going to "unretire." He retired after he sold
his company a few years ago, and spent that
time traveling and playing golf. He told me on
the phone that he has been everywhere, and
has played all the great golf courses around
the world. "What am I supposed to do now?"
he said, "PLay them all again?"

He's bored.

He has an itch to get back in the game, and
he is throwing money at a number of projects
that he says are all winners.

Nobody wins all the time. In fact, in the business
world, if you hit one out of every five ideas out of
the park you're doing pretty well.

The problem is that he doesn't have a plan,
and that's a big problem. Not only that, he
doesn't have a budget, which compounds
the error.

He should know better. But this is a big
problem for guys who go out on top. Its a
problem because businesses are built
bottom up, not top down.

A good plan is the foundation of any business
venture. A plan can never be perfect or avoid
all mistakes, but it can sure eliminate the majority
of problems that will arise from no plan.

A salesperson without a plan for his or her day
isn't going to sell nearly as much as one who does.
A venture without a budget is going to spend a lot
of money on things they don't need.

Planning is a discipline. Working without a clear
plan is just plain peddling backwards.

From the big saddle,

Jim Whelan
The Chairman of the Board

P.S. Advertising needs to be planned. To find out
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