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The Folly of Acting without Planning! Just DO IT!

I often meet people who want to succeed but don't want to do the hard work of planning. They say "I want to get out there and just do it." My amazing lawyer friend Dana Yafee from Seattle who is also a life coach says "that's putting the cart before the horse, Jonathan"! (No more Lawyer jokes for me: I love lawyers!)

People who "just do it" sometimes wind up not doing it for very long. I know Nike says that to all of us but how long did the folks Nike work on their strategic marketing plan??????? Did they just get up one day and say lets "Just do it"? Weiden and Kennedy were smarter than that!

We are all very different in how we approach planning and there more ways to skin a cat (just a figure of speech, dear animal rights activists). For example you could idea map your plan using the system of Jamie Nast. I have written about Jamie elsewhere on this blog. The truth is many small business entrepreneurs that I know and work with as a coach, hate planning. My job as a coach and mentor is to get them to do it and stay the course. Sure, many of them are action oriented and very intelligent people. When they stop to think and plan, their thinking cap starts working and they are able to navigate better through the entrepreneurial jungle. I am so grateful for my advisor at entrepreneurial school, Darren Frew who kept me on track with my business plan and still does!

Recently one of my friends and champions Dave Phillips wrote a book called Three big questions. Dave is just a legend and coaches executives all over the world. For more than 20 years, he has encouraged and inspired business leaders and professional athletes as a motivation speaker and life/business mentor/coach. Dave is a world- class athlete who has been both a member and coach of Canada's national freestyle ski team, and currently holds two World Records for Duration Skiing. Not to be outdone, his wife Kathy Kreiner-Phillips got a little Olympic Gold Medal from the Innsbruck Games too! Dave also leads the team of coaches and mentors I work with here in Vancouver. Dave is a humble man and totally uncomfortable with my praise of him but he deserves it. Dave's point is the 3 big questions!

1. What is my purpose for living?
2. What will be my mission in this life?
3. What will be the vision for my life?

This book was designed to lead you through a unique, integrated process that will help you to answer these critical life questions.

Check out his book . If you really can't afford it drop me a line at and I will see what I can do for you! I am here to help you and some of you may not be able to afford the book! It is a great investment in yourself.

It seems so passé to ask someone if they have a mission statement today, but all of us need some kind of compass to guide us. We intuitively know it, deep inside but writing it down helps. Francis Bacon said "Reading makes a full man; speaking a ready man; and writing an exact man." (He wrote this before there were rules on inclusive writing).

I make it a point to daily look at my mission and track how my rabbit trails are taking me from it or to it!

Here is a deal! Stop reading this blog right now and think about your written plan for your life and your business. If you need some direction or help on this write me and I can send you some materials or point you in some directions for resources. Two books to read after you have read Dave's book are What matters most and of course The 7 Habits! (as I have said elsewhere on this blog the teen version is good for the rest of us too!) Your life is a magnificent opportunity. Don't waste it! Put your thinking cap on and JUST DO IT!

Mapping the way: leadership learning with Crayolas

I don't know about you, but I have always loved Crayolas, felt tips and colour pencils. I've even tried to eat wax crayons once! Please don't give up on your art skills as yet! In case, you don't like the flavour, you could use those crayolas for idea mapping. Ideas are the stuff that leaders eat for breakfast and dinner. Well, for lunch we just chew idea cuds and call it innovation! That's how purple cows are born! As leaders, we are traders and sellers of ideas. Learning to connect them and integrate them is a work of art (pun unintended).

A few years ago, Tony Buzan, the British genius, grabbed my attention. When I first read his work on what he called mindmapping, I was hooked. That's how my mind worked! My own training in Western science and rationality in Jesuit and Protestant private schools/universities had embedded in my mind, the need for structure and linearity. Now for those postmodernists who feel sad for me - don't! - I sing, dance and tell stories, too!! Yet in graduate school, pictures and doodling were often seen as activities für die kinder! Black words on bond paper in Harvard Style outlines in MS Word seemed more suited to the explaining of a thought.

Buzan's software, Novamind , MindjetManager and a host of others, offer quick and easy ways to mind map without being a consummate artist. Although I am a die hard Macintosh user , I am happy that mind mapping is available for both the Macintosh and Windows.

Since Buzan, others have also written and furthered the discussion on this creative way of thinking. Let me introduce you today to Jamie Nast (fanfare plays here!) who has written a handy and practical introduction to get the scoop on Idea Mapping. Jamie is a wonderful and gracious person and I am a fan. She teaches and trains many in a wide variety of areas, but is exceptionally qualified to write on Idea Mapping. I am sure that her book will be a handy resource around the globe for people who truly think differently! Of course, I am working on Jamie to really be different and get a Mac!

Jamie is coming soon to the city of Vancouver. If you live in the area, consider standing in line for Jamie's seminar. No, I don't sell tickets!! Contact Jamie's organization for the details. Her clients include The Ford Motor Co., GM, General Physics, Institute of Management Accountants, L.L.Bean, Macomb Intermediate School District, MARC Advertising, Matrix Imaging, Mayo Clinic! Don't you think you should be there?

No, Jamie is not related, nor does she bribe me with Lattes! The issue is that if you lead or coach or even have the most prestigious title of being a teacher, her work may be useful to brainstorming and visioning with your clients/kiddos! (same thing!) Think without the box, just use the crayolas! Throw the box away! It's recyclable, I think!

As you can see I am a fan of Jamie Nast, but that does not allow you to call me a NASTie! Have fun with the Crayolas!

Ta!

BE prepared to hear about the secrets of balloons for leadership and strategic planning soon!