3% of all business owners make 84% of all private biz income. Why? They’re not covering for unknown weaknesseses.
Bad Plans Carried Out Violently Many Times Yield Good Results. Do something.
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This article was published on January 07, 2009. So far, 3 people have left their thoughts. Share your own thoughts.
This was my Marine Corps soccer team’s motto 30 years ago. It has since become a key business practice for me. It’s also the title of a book I’m writing and the basis for Carrie’s great story below.
We plan, research, and think things to death when all the evidence says that the #1 indicator of success in business is not how smart you are, how much research you do, or even how good your product is. The #1 indicator of success is speed of execution. Period. Want to be successful? As Larry the Cable Guy says, “Get ‘er done.”
One of my clients, Carrie Roberts, took this to heart – here’s her story to me in an email yesterday. This one will make the book. FYI – the following blur of activity took place in only two weeks that included Christmas and New Years:
“Holy Sh%#!!! (like I said, excuse my french:)
I hit my goal somehow – actually – even exceeded my goal – and your voice keeps resonating in my head – Bad Plans my friend!!!
I finished writing my product Blueprint last week – cut out some things that I didn’t have finished, changed the price to $47 so that I could get it up through click bank, set up a hosting account, set up a separate email account, set up an auto-responder account, hired a web guy – web guy finished the site yesterday, got final approval from click bank yesterday at 6pm, got everything set up through them and listed on their site, and everything went live by 9pm last night.
Set up a google adwords account and placed an ad, signed up with Tweet Later and set up auto-responder messages for Twitter, chose 20 new people to follow and was in bed by 11.
I made my first sale this morning at 9am
I cried
I don’t know where this is going – it’s a bad plan – but it is a great way to start 2009!
couldn’t wait to share – Happy New Year!!!”
What else is there to say?
Just one thing – the fine-tuning on my “Bad Plans carried out violently” principle is:
“Implement Now, Perfect as You Go.”
I know Carrie well enough that, having worked her rear off to get something up that wasn’t perfect, she will begin immediately to make it better. And having it already up and running will allow her to perfect it much quicker than if she was continuing to perfect a theoretical business plan.
She will definitely perfect her Bad Plan as she goes. This ought to be good. Way to go, Carrie!
What Bad Plan do you need to carry out violently (with total commitment) that you’ve been dinking around with for months? The best way to make it better is to go live and let the world inform you how to perfect it.
Carpe Diem, Just Do It, and all that stuff.
Got a great “Bad Plan carried out violently” story? I’d love to hear it. It could make the book. Tell me AFTER you implement!
Add Your Own
Thoughts
Ankesh Kothari
01/07/09
Thank You Chuck for sharing an excellent story.
I am one of those folks who always has more than 1 project going on together (right now, I’m working on 3).
So speed of execution has always been a problem for me. But that is one of the key issues I’m trying to become better at.
(The other key issue I’m working on is – creating messages that spread on its own.)
Chuck
01/07/09
Ankesh,
Speed of execution plagues all of us – wish I could say you are the exception. For me it is always tied to another piece of this principle – The Tyranny of the Urgent vs. The Priority of the Important. The Urgent things are usually not all that important, but are the “loudest”. The Important things are usually not all that Urgent, and only whisper at me.
I need to focus on the Important things whispering to me and ignore the Urgent things yelling at me. Easy to say, harder to do!
rosie
01/28/09
What an insightful post. I am finding the need to document all the steps for my process of building systems. As well as do an accomplishment journal so my time is documented. I love this story, because it motivates me, even more , to do it and pray thru it.
Thanks so much