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Last time, I suggested working backwards from the desired
goal as a planning tool. I mentioned that when you work backwards from the
finish line in your planning, you are likely to see new information about steps
you need to take or differences in the amount of time that you originally
thought you needed to complete your goal. In keeping with that thought, while
we’re planning the steps for HOW to achieve this goal, we have consider WHAT we
need in order to successfully complete it.
The WHAT doesn’t refer only to things.
It can also relate to people or skill sets and what’s necessary to
secure those resources.
For example, let’s say that you have a goal to achieve a formal
certification in project management. You
may determine that you need additional information on risk management in order
to pass the certification exam. You might
determine that only a class in risk management will provide sufficient
knowledge. In that case, the resource
you need is a greater knowledge of risk management. Now you need to decide how best to receive
that additional knowledge. Will it be a
night class over 6 weeks? Will you do an
online course at your own pace? Do you
prefer a traditional classroom with real time interaction between students and
professor? How much will you be able to
spend on acquiring this knowledge? Will you need to acquire financial aid if
you take a college class? If you take a
traditional class that’s conducted at night, will you need childcare on those
evenings? Who will provide that? How much
will that childcare cost? Are there
other options for gaining this desired knowledge?
At first glance, this can seem overwhelming. It may seem
that if you pull one string (question) it will unravel the whole ball of
yarn. In essence, you do want it to
unravel. You need to examine this
process piece by piece in order to plan accordingly. Too often, people fall
victim to their own lack of thorough planning when it comes to their
goals. If you don’t think through WHAT you
need before you begin, you most likely will reach a point during your journey
where you have to stop and do it at a later time. For example, it may be that you need another
person who’s a resource to help you out.
If you neglect to secure him during the planning, now you may have to
wait until he can work you into his schedule to help you with this piece of your
journey. If that happens, you can end up
postponing action towards your goal.
If you do have to stop your journey due to poor initial planning,
it’s even tougher for you to get going again once the resource has finally been
secured. People tend to lose momentum
and become frustrated when they have to do planning like that in the heat of
battle. You need your strategy and your
ammunition before you enter the
battle field. You need to bring all the artillery you need in order to win with
you when you show up for the battle. The
best way to do that is to think through all the things you need for survival
before you even begin the journey.
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