Return to Newsletter Archives

Volume 5 Number 7   |   July 2015

Battle Plans

I've been suggesting to people in my various groups and meetings that they create a "battle plan" for the longer term. After all, whatever you want to accomplish in the years ahead has to start sometime, or it's forever just a pipe dream (the expression's derivation is from those who thought of ideas while smoking opium pipes).

What is there in your life that you've always wanted to accomplish but have never even started moving toward?

  • Playing an instrument
  • Having a summer home
  • Taking three-day weekends
  • Moving to new markets/clients/customers
  • Reconnecting with family, friends
  • Starting a new hobby or pursuit

We don't "become an artist," but we can learn to draw. We may not be able to get a Ferrari, but we can buy a sportier car. We may not immediately land $150,000 projects, but we can move up to $100,000 projects.

 

Yes, But How?

Rachel Carson, the author (Silent Spring) was told by her mother to stop worrying about everything so much, because God created all that she sees. She replied, "Yes, and General Motors created the Oldsmobile, but the question is how?

How to you adopt the right mindset to begin and achieve your battle plan goals? Let's take a tough example from above: Gaining $100,000 projects as the norm. Here are my suggestions:

  1. In your proposals, make your first option about $100,000 and build up from there for options 2 and 3.
  2. That means you should only do business with firms that can readily invest that much. ("Small businesses" can invest that much in most cases.)
  3. That means that you have to show a million dollars (10:1 return) as minimum agreed-upon value.
  4. Thus, your mindset has to be: the right buyer, the right relationship, conceptual agreement on seven figures of improvement, and a minimum fee of $100,000+.

Now go do that, for any of the battle plan goals.

© Alan Weiss 2015