Do you know what the most critical step you must take to empower your business planning for a successful 2015?

Get clear on who you are and what you desire to create.

This simple, yet many times overlooked, step starts you on the right path and keeps you focused throughout the year.

Transforming your 2015 Business Planning

Many business coaches use the “growing a rose bush” analogy to encourage us to create the perfect environment in our business to allow it to flourish.  In order to grow a rose bush, you must create an environment that allows it to flourish.  The right amount of soil, sun, water and love.  We subscribe to this analogy and this practice whole-heartedly and ask this simple question: “What happens if you trying to grow a rose bush after planting a lemon tree?”

You can do all the planning and nurturing that is perfect for a rose bush, but if you have planted a lemon tree expecting it to bloom roses, you will be sorely disappointed. We add one more component to this game plan.

Before you plan and document your to-do lists to create that perfect environment, we encourage you to examine your core.  You must first look at who you are and what you desire to create before you develop your 2015 Success Plan.

Here are some questions to ponder as you define who you are and what you desire to create:

  1. Define the 3 most important roles in your life.
  2. For each role, list 3 adjectives that are most important to you for that role.
  3. Pretend there is a magic fairy princess that will wave her wand to eliminate all obstacles in your life in 2015. What would you do in each role?

This can be the hardest part of the exercise.  Do not limit yourself. Allow your mind to think big. Remember, you have a magic fairy princess eliminating all obstacles.

For example, the following are the answers that Dawn defined for herself:

Three Most Important Roles:

Mother,  Friend, Business Woman

Three Adjectives for Each Role

Mother: loving, generous, non-judgmental listener

Friend: loyal, compassionate, non-judgmental listener

Business Woman: competent, successful, professional

What do you want to do in 2015 for each role while your magic fairy princess eliminates all obstacles?

Mother: Be mindful and present in every interaction

Friend: Be mindful and present

Business Woman: Touch a million lives with the power of conflict transformation

This exercise empowers us with the following:

  • It gets us present to who we are at our core as well as what we want to accomplish, allowing us to stay focused. When the circumstances of life cause us to feel out of balance, it becomes our true north, helping us make decisions which before seemed extremely difficult.
  • It becomes the foundation for planning. In order to know what environment to establish, you must first know what you desire to create.

Before you begin planning your 2015, take a moment to identify who you are and what you desire to accomplish by answering the three questions above.  Write it down and post it somewhere that you will see it daily.

Make it a great 2015!