As an avid golf and sailing enthusiast, I believe there are five basic elements to planning a successful sailing or golfing trip. It turns out, these same five elements are vital to building good business plans as well. They are:
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Concept & Idea
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Make A Plan
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Delegate Plan Tasks
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Execute & Adjust
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Review & Plan Next Steps
Concept & Idea
I was playing golf in Nantucket, an island off Cape Cod in New England, with a lawyer, real estate developer, and a fellow entrepreneur. The entrepreneur suggested we go to Martha’s Vineyard and play golf. Someone suggested we sail over, play golf, spend the night, play golf and sail home the next day. At that point, we all agreed it was a great idea.
Make A Plan
We finished our golf game and decided to make a plan over lunch. We agreed on a plan, which was subject to change and continued to evolve:
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Set a date to sail to Edgartown in Martha’s Vineyard (5 hour sail).
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Make a reservation for a boat slip.
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Make a reservation to stay at the Edgartown Inn.
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Decide where to have dinner.
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Make golf tee times for 2 days.
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Have a contingency plan.
Delegate Plan Tasks
On Monday, we were ready to leave. We met at 6:00 AM to take the launch to our sailboat. One of the team members made special arrangements for the launch to take us an hour earlier than normal. If we were not able to arrange the earlier launch, we would have missed our 2:00 PM tee time.
We loaded the sailboat and stowed our clubs and gear, divided the tasks to leave the harbor and started on our adventure. After leaving the harbor, the winds turned unfavorable and we had to motor to Martha’s Vineyard at 5 Kts per hour. We had plenty of time to review the plan, make contingency plans, check the weather and make plans for dinner.
Execute & Adjust
Like any business plan, we had to constantly make changes and fine tune the plan. We were an experienced team with all the talents needed to execute and fine-tune the plan. We all worked towards the common goal of having a great time and a successful trip.
We arrived in Martha’s Vineyard too early for our slip and had to find a mooring until our slip was available. Part of the team worked on finding a mooring and the others called a cab to get us to the Farm Neck golf course. We dropped our gear at the hotel and headed for the golf course. We played golf, returned to dock the boat, have a drink at The Shanty, check-in at the hotel, take a shower and have dinner. This all could not have been completed without a plan and a great team to execute the plan.
Review & Plan Next Steps
The next day we met at 6:15 AM and headed for the golf course. On the way to the golf course, we reviewed and fine-tuned the plans for the day with the goal of reaching home before dark. After golf and lunch, we loaded up the boat and headed home. We raised the sails and had a 20 to 30 kt wind. It was a thrilling ride home.
Because of the favorable winds, we arrived in Nantucket at 7:00 PM. One of the team members invited us for cocktails. We reviewed our trip against the plan and agreed it was a success and given the chance, we would do it again.
How is this like creating a business plan?
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Making a business plan is no different than making any plan.
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To keep on schedule, a plan has to be continually fine-tuned.
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We were a seasoned team and respected each other’s talents.
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Decisions had to be made and there was no room for egos.
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Unless you have a plan, you’re like a boat without a rudder, or a golf ball lost in the woods. You need a direction to go before you can change or fine-tune it.
What’s your experience with business plans? I’d love to hear comments from readers below.
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My experience is that if you do not have a plan it will not get done.
Dave…Thanks for sharing your experience.
It sounds like a great plan and a great adventure. What was more fun, the sailing, golf, or food/drinks?
Dave…The combination of everything, but especially the camaraderie everyone shared.
Larry,sounds like a great plan,I always run my business with a plan like my golf game.
Neil…Thanks for sharing your personal experience.
Larry, excellent points. Without a vision there is no strategy ; without a strategy , there is no plan . Without plans there is no road map, approach, and tactics ; therefore, no sustainability and innovation, To propel the business forward.
Candida…Thanks for sharing your comments and experience.
Good review Larry.
My addition would be that once the team makes the plan everyone needs to be all in.
If in golf, you and your caddy (the person gives insightful advice) decide on the club to hit at the pin, you have to hit the shot with confidence.
Enjoy the rest of the Summer.
Bill…Good point! Everyone needs to be all in and confident to execute the plan.
The trip was one of the best fun experiences I ever had. I am grateful that I was aboard and on that beautiful golf course. It had that all-important secret ingredient for success -everyone had an upbeat,positive attitude. There were no whiners.
Jim…Thanks for bringing up the point, that every plan needs individuals with a positive attitude to have a positive outcome.
Great piece Larry!
“Fail to plan, plan to fail.”
― Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History
Marshall…Great advice! Thanks for the quote.
Larry and All,
Have you all read the Stanford Business review on business plans based on the “minimum viable product” concept? This approach to business planning will drive success, given the way it integrates customer input in the process. Larry, I would like to know how your foursome achieved 3 and 4, in particular.
I am working on a project that implicates all of these issues.
best, Pat
Hi Pat,
I will be very happy to discuss our foursome’s experience. Let me know what times works for you.
Best regards,
Larry
larry@larryputterman.com
Interesting. Every day we instinctively/unconsciously frame a plan on routine activities. Some of us need to spell out “the plan”. I’m learning at my age that spending a few minutes putting pen to paper or a few key strokes on my lap top improves the likelihood of successful execution.
Norwood….Thanks for sharing your routine for making a plan and how it has helped you.