I was a new manager when I first heard “Five Ps” or Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance, and thought to myself… genius, so true, what a great saying. Only later in life did I realize that this common phrase has been duplicated, replicated, and modified for many years. No originality here, but nonetheless, the phrase has stayed with me.
Every person has the same 24 hours in a day, and yet, some people manage to get a lot more out of their day. So, what is it that these people do differently? Well, they choose carefully what they will focus on for the day and more importantly, they choose what not to do.
And this is what prior planning does for you. It gives you the opportunity to think about what you will focus on for the day and to prioritize the activities that are of highest value to achieving your goals. When you focus on the activities of high value, you achieve your goals. A great philosopher once said, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”
The most successful people know how to focus their efforts to ensure they get the most benefit for the least effort. If you don’t do this, you risk falling into doing what you naturally want or like to do, but this is not always what is going to make a the most significant impact in your day.
When you take the time plan your day you’ll realize what you don’t know. One of the biggest challenges for strategy execution after establishing a goal, is coming up with the required actions and milestones to help get you there. You might think this is the easy part, but it is not and so people just don’t know what comes next.
As a manager there is a hidden benefit in the Five Ps acronym. You can quickly identify who in your team has the ability and skill to help you get where you want to go, and who in your team needs more coaching and support. As a manager it’s your job to coach and support your staff. This includes helping them to plan and prioritize their day to ensure they are focusing on the highest value activities. Otherwise, they’ll end up keeping busy but not achieving the results you expect. Busy work often doesn’t translate into success.
I love the quote, “Today is not finished until tomorrow is planned.” If you plan tomorrow before today has ended, you’ll be able to leave work with a clear mind, which also allows you to spend quality time on your high-value personal activities. Planning and prioritizing create a “win – win” situation for your career, your team, and your personal life.
And never forget, Procrastination destroys and trumps Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance!
Every person has the same 24 hours in a day, and yet, some people manage to get a lot more out of their day. So, what is it that these people do differently? Well, they choose carefully what they will focus on for the day and more importantly, they choose what not to do.
And this is what prior planning does for you. It gives you the opportunity to think about what you will focus on for the day and to prioritize the activities that are of highest value to achieving your goals. When you focus on the activities of high value, you achieve your goals. A great philosopher once said, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”
The most successful people know how to focus their efforts to ensure they get the most benefit for the least effort. If you don’t do this, you risk falling into doing what you naturally want or like to do, but this is not always what is going to make a the most significant impact in your day.
When you take the time plan your day you’ll realize what you don’t know. One of the biggest challenges for strategy execution after establishing a goal, is coming up with the required actions and milestones to help get you there. You might think this is the easy part, but it is not and so people just don’t know what comes next.
As a manager there is a hidden benefit in the Five Ps acronym. You can quickly identify who in your team has the ability and skill to help you get where you want to go, and who in your team needs more coaching and support. As a manager it’s your job to coach and support your staff. This includes helping them to plan and prioritize their day to ensure they are focusing on the highest value activities. Otherwise, they’ll end up keeping busy but not achieving the results you expect. Busy work often doesn’t translate into success.
I love the quote, “Today is not finished until tomorrow is planned.” If you plan tomorrow before today has ended, you’ll be able to leave work with a clear mind, which also allows you to spend quality time on your high-value personal activities. Planning and prioritizing create a “win – win” situation for your career, your team, and your personal life.
And never forget, Procrastination destroys and trumps Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance!
