In the past weeks, all of our plans have changed, or worse, been cancelled entirely. After recovering from the initial shock and sense of overwhelm, people are starting to talk about how to handle it and what to do now. I have had several conversations this week that all ended with the same conclusion, just because the plan has changed, doesn’t mean that we can’t reach the goal. The problem is that we get so attached to the plan, that we often forget entirely about what we were trying to accomplish in the first place.
Here are three things you can do to help you reach your goals, even when the situation changes.
Have a Plan
In our normal daily lives, we focus on the small goals automatically – pick up the kids from school, put gas in the car, make dinner. But with larger goals that require a longer time or more effort, we get distracted by the plan. This is especially true for business projects, but also applies for personal goals, such as moving to a new city. I read a post today which said, “Don’t make plans, you’ll only be disappointed.” As a professional plan-maker (Project Manager), I disagree.
Think about a goal most of us have every day – to drive home from the office (before home and the office were the same place). When you leave the office, you have a plan for which route you will drive to reach your destination. Without this plan, you would never even get out of the parking lot.
Stay Focused on the Goal
But what happens, when on your chosen route, a road is closed for construction? You don’t park at the barricade and wait for the construction to finish. You say a few choice words and then turn the car around and find an alternate route home. The first plan for how to get home was necessary, but it was never the critical part. Getting home was the goal. The plan (or route) can be changed. Of course, it may take a few minutes longer, or require more fuel, but we don’t give up on getting home just because the first plan failed.
Find an Alternate Route
Why is it, that in larger projects, we lose hope and focus when there is suddenly a roadblock in our way? Why do we consider it a failure if everything doesn’t go exactly the way we planned? Perhaps we are attached to our plans because we spend so much time, energy and research creating them. Or perhaps we’re more interested in the journey than the actual destination. But the truth is, in most cases, if we stay focused on the goal, we can find an alternate route.
As an experienced project manager, I can say that in hundreds of projects, I have never had one go exactly as planned. For everything from building an App to launching a new car, the plan changed dozens of times between starting the project and reaching the goal.
The skill in achieving success comes not in the planning, but in the pivoting.
See the obstacles and then find a way around them.
It is not always obvious or easy, creativity is required, but you are more likely to reach the goal if you let go of the plan and start looking for alternate routes. It will certainly get you closer than parking the car and waiting for the obstacles to move out of your way.