By Dr. John C. Maxwell It’s hard to achieve anything consequential without a written plan. However, putting a plan on paper isn’t enough. Regardless of how thorough, concrete, or ingenious a plan may be, it won’t happen unless additional ingredients are injected into the planning process. In my experience, I’ve observed seven principles that are absolutely critical to successful planning. 1) The Principle of Passion When we’re passionless, we procrastinate on the plan or burnout trying to execute it. With passion, we approach our plans with excitement and a sense of urgency. Passion gives planning energy.

Passion also gives planning focus. As Tim Redmond says, “There are many things that will catch my eye, but there are only a few things that will catch my heart. It is those I consider to pursue.” Passion narrows our vision so that the plan dominates our attention and distractions fade into the background. 2) The Principle of Creativity Of the seven planning principles, we violate the principle of creativity the most. By gravitating to concreteness, we sacrifice creativity. We settle for what’s easy to wrap our minds around, and we neglect to wrestle with harder, more difficult dilemmas. I’m convinced that leaders are too busy doing to think and provide ideas. Even the rare leaders who think creatively often neglect to encourage the people around them to do the same. Consequently, a majority of teams rely on one person for creative thought and end up starved for good ideas. 3) The Principle of Influence When you prepare your plans, ask yourself the question, “Am I able to influence the resources needed to fulfill my planning and mission?” To accomplish your plan, you’ll need influence over people, finances, and your schedule. The support of people, especially other influencers, can make or break your plan. Make a priority to build relationships with them. In particular, find the key to their lives by learning what matters most to them. If you continually add value to the influencers around you in meaningful ways, then you’ll be more likely to receive their assistance when you need it. 4) The Principle of Priorities I’m amazed by the amount of people who begin to plan their careers before taking the time to prioritize their lives. You have no right, nor any reason, to start planning your life until you know what you’re living for and what you’re willing to die for. It’s important to find your purpose so that you run, not on the fast track, but on your track. The key to a prioritized life is concentration followed by elimination. As Peter Drucker observed, “Concentration is the key to economic results. No other principle of effectiveness is violated as constantly today as the basic principal of concentration. Our motto seems to be, let’s do a little bit of everything.” We must cease to dabble in everything before we can become excellent at anything. 5) The Principle of Flexibility In leadership, be mentally prepared that not everything will go according to your plans. Then, when plans unfold unexpectedly, you’ll be prepared to see new opportunities. Some of the best things I’ve received in life have been surprises that I could never have planned in advance. When plans go awry, don’t just stand there. By staying in motion, you create movement. Be resourceful enough to improvise when circumstances push you off course. 6) The Principle of Timing I credit Robert Schuller for teaching me a lesson about timing-the peak-to-peak principle. Most of the time, our decisions are based on our emotional environment rather than reality. When we’re in the valleys of life, we don’t see clearly. Our perspective is limited, and all we see are the problems around us. In the valleys we make decisions, not to better ourselves, but to escape our problems. Never make a major decision in the valleys. Wait until you get to the peak where you can see clearer and farther. By reserving big choices for the peaks, you’ll avoid making rash decisions that you’ll regret later. 7) The Principle of Teamwork A worthwhile plan ought to be bigger than your abilities. You shouldn’t be able to accomplish it alone. Each of us has areas of weakness, blind spots, and shortcomings. Unless we rely on a team to help us, our plans succumb to our personal limitations. A sign in Coach Bill Parcells’ office stated his philosophy plainly, “Individuals play the game but teams win championships.” What selves to be pulled into the vortex of minutiae. As a consequence, they end up buried under a sea of details, and they can’t pull their heads above water long enough to plan. 3) They don’t like the perceived hassle of planning. Instead of planning one event at a time, they become overwhelmed by the mountain of things to plan. 4) Many people don’t plan because the outcome varies greatly. “After all,” they say, “When I do make a plan, it normally doesn’t end up happening, so why bother?” Why Planning Is Essential We all have desires and dreams, yet we’ll never accomplish our dreams in life just by wanting them bad enough. Planning bridges the gap between our desires and dreams by calling us to action. As noted by William Danforth, “”No plan is worth the paper it is printed on unless it starts you doing something.” A concrete plan supplies us with tangible steps to take in the direction of our dreams. Qualities of Principle-Centered Planning

Principle-centered planning allows us to be flexible without losing focus. Principle-centered planning allows us to be creative without losing concentration. Planning is the structure. Principle-centered planning is the flesh. Planning is the roadmap. Principle-centered planning is the movement. Planning is the idea. Principle-centered planning is the action. Planning is the paper. Principle-centered planning is the power.

Summary It’s been said, “By failing to plan, you plan to fail.” I wholeheartedly agree. People who ignore planning handicap themselves and stifle their effectiveness. The good news about planning is that it’s a relatively simple discipline. Anyone can do it. No PHD is required to make a solid plan - only a window of uninterrupted time for focused thought. By now I hope you’ve been persuaded about the imperative of planning. In the next edition of Leadership Wired, I’ll unwrap seven principles to guide your planning process and help you achieve your dreams. About John C. Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold over 16 million books. EQUIP, the organization he founded has trained more than 2 million leaders worldwide. Every year he speaks to Fortune 500 companies, international government leaders, and audiences as diverse as the United States Military Academy at West Point, the National Football League, and ambassadors at the United Nations. A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week best-selling author, Maxwell was named the World’s Top Leadership Guru by Leadershipgurus.net. He was also one of only 25 authors and artists named to Amazon.com’s 10th Anniversary Hall of Fame. Three of his books, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within You, and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader have each sold over a million copies.