What is your PLAN?

 I have been feeling this blog post brewing in my brain for days now; however, reading another ActiveRainer's post today  (thanks Wanda!☺) kicked me into gear to get it written!  When I commented on her post, I wrote, "...if you "fail to plan, you might as well plan on failing"!"  Nothing earth shattering, right?  We've all heard some rendition of that phrase over the years, right?

Have you seen the Pixar movie "UP" from 2009?  If not, Google / YouTube "Pixar's UP + Squirrel" to see several video clips where the dog gets distracted at all the good moments in hopeful pursuit of a squirrel sighting.  My family has quoted this movie when we've been in silly moments for years when someone gets distracted or wants to distract someone else.  What does this anecdotal moment have to do with my blog post?  Let me explain...

Lately I feel like my clients have been getting distracted by lots of "shiny objects / new toys / squirrels"...and are just jumping on to the next new thing without setting up their game plan first.  Money doesn't come easily, and before my clients sign up for something new, I want them to think about a few things...

1. Are you sure it is better than what you currently have or are using?
2. What do you hope to gain by signing up with said new shiny object?
3. Have you checked out references or testimonials of others who have jumped on said shiny object bandwagon before you?
4. Can you get a reasonable ROI on this investment?

If the responses to the above are favorable, then I say let's move on.  Next we tackle what will it take to get up to speed / up and running with said shiny object?  Who needs to be involved?  Do we need to schedule it out for a certain day so that we avoid any potetial hiccups on a day when they could critically impact the client's productivity / success rate?

OK, it all still looks good, we've got a plan, now let's ACT on it.  Go ahead and purchase, sign up, release, etc... said shiny object.  But it doesn't end there!  Evaluate, watch, listen to what is happening and your client's responses to this investment.  Do they like it? Wait a week, then a month, maybe even 90 days...but then review your purchase.  Has it been worthwhile?  Do you and / or your clients get value from it?  Enough to justify the expense? 

If NO - then cancel, get your money back if you can, cancel your subscription, etc...don't just keep letting that shiny albatross suck your bank account dry!  Stay on top of it and get it canceled or returned - stop the bleed.

If YES - then great!  We are in full implementation at this point.  But don't just sit back and enjoy it...of course you could, but inevitably the luster will fade and it will not be so shiny and new...but hey - it worked so well - is it scalable?  Can we make it better?  Do more of it?  Change it up just a bit to keep it shiny and new?  Create a campaign around it to keep it in focus, etc...?

See what I mean?  PLAN.  If you fail to plan, you might as well plan to fail...but I have faith that we are all intelligent people not to be enslaved by a shiny object simply for shine's sake...so tell me...what are YOU planning today?  What is next on your horizon?