Provision #671: Planning Matters
by Bob Tschannen-Moran
Laser Provision
As we discussed in last week's Provision,
Priorities
Matter. But priorities without planning are not really priorities at all.
They more often become casualties in the face of life's exigencies. When that
happens, we become causalities as well. The stress of not putting first things
first takes a toll on one and all. The antidote to failure and stress is
planning. Planning matters. Unless we take the time to think through not only
the why but also the how of our priorities, not much will happen the way we
expect. So stop running around like a crazy squirrel! Read this Provision today.
LifeTrek Provision
It's
Memorial Day weekend in the United States, a time when we traditionally stop to
remember war dead and other fallen heroes and loved ones. If you are mourning
the loss of a friend or family member right now, or if you are especially
mindful of those who have given their lives in national service, then I extend
my appreciation and respect for what you may be feeling and remembering right
now.
About ten years ago I was at the cemetery where my maternal grandparents are
buried. My children were present and as I walked over to my grandparents' graves
with them, I began to tear up and to cry as though they had just died yesterday.
That emotional reaction, that limbic hijack, was completely unexpected. It just
happened. It was a powerful reminder that on some level the past is present in
each of us.
When that happens, when we experience strong emotions whether for something in
the distant past, the immediate present, or even the anticipated future, it
helps to respond with empathy. Shushing our emotions is neither helpful nor
possible. It's better to understand them in the context of the universal needs
that give rise to them. When we feel good, needs are being honored, respected,
and met. When we feel
bad, needs are not being honored, respected, and met. Either way, feelings get stimulated.
And death is an especially powerful stimulus when it comes to feelings, both
positive and negative. Death represents the ending of so many conversations and
dreams. It causes the living to reflect on who we are and what might have been.
No wonder countries set aside times to remember the dead. Such times enable us
to grieve, to celebrate, to mourn, and to move on with a more balanced sense of
perspective.
If any organization has learned how to maintain its composure through the trials
and torments of death, it's the military. As one US politician put it recently,
they "kill and break things for a living." By extension, of course, they also
die and get broken for a living. It's what they do. Regardless of what we may
think of such violent approaches to conflict resolution, there's no denying the
emotional side of the equation. In the end, with even the most sophisticated of
technologies, death and carnage are hard to take.
So as any military commander will tell you, the key lies in the planning. That's
how you minimize or avoid losses. A while back I heard an air force fighter
pilot speak about his missions in Iraq. He started his speech with the following
observation: "When you go to war, you don't want it to be a fair fight."
That's why the military invented the now-famous SWOT analysis: a strategic
planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
and Threats involved with an operation. Before every mission, and as a
part of their global view, the military considers each of those attributes and
conditions in order to minimize losses and maximize gains. The better the
analysis, the more leverage they hope to have as they go into battle.
Such planning views life in terms of enemies, adversaries, and risks. That is,
in fact, one of the criticisms of SWOT analyses, which are widely utilized in
strategic planning for all kinds of organizations. When you frame the questions
in terms of weaknesses and threats, that's what you find: a world full of
hostile people and things. It takes different questions to generate different
conversations, dreams, and outcomes.
To that end, John Sutherland and Jacqueline Stavros have proposed replacing SWOT
with SOAR, inviting appreciative conversations regarding Strengths, Opportunities,
Aspirations, and Results. After documenting the limitations and
relatively poor track records of what SWOT analyses actually produce, they put
forward a model that gets people talking in new ways about their strengths,
values, resources, and possibilities.
The focus of the SOAR model is upon collaboration more than competition, win-win
more than win-lose, abundance more than scarcity, assets more than deficits,
life-embracing more than life-striving, humility more than superiority, and
choice-full more than inevitable. SOAR is an exceptional alternative that many
leaders and organizations would do well to learn and to practice.
Either way, however, whether you are more attracted to SWOT or SOAR (and there
are many others as well), one thing that all of these approaches assume is that
people, leaders, and organizations benefit from planning. Last week I wrote
about the importance of having
clear
priorities. This week I am making a different yet related point: priorities
without planning are not much good and can hardly be called priorities at all.
Take the weekly production of this newsletter. It is more-or-less a solo effort
by yours truly, and it is offered free to the world as a gift. People ask me how
and why I do this every week. I have written before about the why: such
reflective writing discipline is part of my path of development. It is my
priority because it makes me a better person. It is part of how I learn, love,
and laugh my way through life.
But the why without a how will not generate a weekly newsletter of any depth.
There will either be missed issues or the content will be scarified to the
distribution schedule. How do we avoid that? Planning!
A while back I went through a period in which the weekly publication of
Provisions was becoming more and more of a burden. The issue had less to do with
coming up with content and more to do with the impact of the publication
schedule on my wife's and my social lives. To relieve the stress, I contemplated
skipping weeks on occasion (and may still do that when appropriate).
Ever since I made that announcement, however, my publication schedule has
continued unabated. But my wife's and my stress levels have gradually gone way
down. What's made the difference? Planning and presence.
From week to week, I am much more conscious of when and how to write Provisions
so they don't ruin our weekends. I often still write them on Saturdays; I'm in
that groove and it's a good one for me. Now, however, I more consistently look
ahead to our weekend plans and adjust my writing schedule accordingly. Instead
of waiting till the last minute, I have adjusted my internal clock so that the
project gets done in the context of other needs and strategies.
That's where presence comes in. By letting go of the "need" to publish
Provisions every week (it's not a "need" but a "strategy"), I can more fully
enjoy the opportunity to publish Provisions, along with the many other
opportunities that make life so rich and meaningful to me and my wife.
The combination of planning and presence has virtually eliminated any sense of
worry or pressure about getting Provisions done. If it happens, fine. If not,
fine. My job is to play the game of enjoying life fully while getting Provisions
written around the edges. Before planning and presence took hold, Provisions was
the focus. Now, life is the focus.
This shift has been such gift. One way to describe it is that Provisions
generates less adrenaline in my life. Through planning and presence I can relax
and enjoy each moment of every day more fully.
We have just completed a major hardscaping and landscaping project in our back
yard. The project took four months to complete with lots of planning and
improvisations along the way. Our contractor, Don Newsom of
Delightful Gardens, has been a
delight to work with. And the results show. Our yard has certainly soared beyond
our wildest dreams. I had to laugh, then, when Don sent me the following
reflection on the adrenaline lifestyle of squirrels:
"Why did the squirrel cross the street? (The chicken had a
different reason.) My theory is that squirrels are addicted to adrenalin. He
is after the excitement and the rush, but eventually has a belly-up
experience. I have not observed any other animal except squirrels that seem
to go out to play in the traffic."
"Do you run your company, or does it run you? The connection between
road-kill and management by crisis mode is the adrenal system. Calm is a
choice, and then a skill set. Like many good things, these skills can be
found in Prosult; if you look. Take a
deep relaxing breath and choose calm."
That's one way to describe what happens through effective
planning. We become less adrenaline driven, more calm, and better able to enjoy
the present moment. That has been my experience with Provisions, and I invite
you to find that experience for yourself. Want a partner on the journey.
Contact LifeTrek today
for a free consultation.
Coaching Inquiries: What role does planning play in your life? How often do you
take the time to step back and think through how to make life better? What helps
you to do that? What benefits do you see? Who can be your partner on the
journey? How can you be more present with your loved ones, friends, and
colleagues in life and work?
To reply to this Provision, use our
Feedback Form. To
talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization,
Email Us
or use our
Contact Form
to arrange a complimentary conversation. To learn more about LifeTrek Coaching programs,
Click Here.
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LifeTrek Readers' Forum (selected feedback
from the past week)
Editor's Note: The LifeTrek Readers' Forum contains selections from the comments
and materials sent in each week by the readers of LifeTrek Provisions. They do
not necessarily reflect the perspective of LifeTrek Coaching International. To
submit your comment, use our Feedback Form or
Email Bob.
Thanks for
today's Provision,
Priorities
Matter. Now look what you have started! I will be on this all night. Top
May you be filled with goodness, peace, and joy.
Bob Tschannen-Moran
President, LifeTrek Coaching International,
www.LifeTrekCoaching.com
CEO & Co-Founder, Center for School Transformation,
www.SchoolTransformation.com
Immediate Past President, International Association of Coaching,
www.CertifiedCoach.org
Author, Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time,
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