Create A Backup Plan

Do you have a plan B?

I completely understand the reluctance of forming a back-up plan. Some successful and driven individuals declare that you should not have a Plan B because that guarantees that Plan A will fail. Some say that if you have a Plan B you will use it.

That depends.

Does it mean that if your plan is to become a famous actor and your back-up plan is to earn a living doing what you love in other ways that you are avoiding your true aspiration? I don't think so. I've seen wonderful people who so earnestly cling to their Plan A that they crash and burn and live in poverty. Is that their best option? What have they achieved?

High performance leaders seldom get themselves into that situation. They understand the need for a sensible back-up plan. It has nothing to do with giving up your dream. It has all to do with engaging your team, influencing your constituents, finding the resources you need, backing yourself up.

Not giving up on your vision but rather supporting your vision in ways that make sense right now.

You need a better back-up plan than "if I fail, I fail." You need a better back-up plan than "I do all the work".

Whether it is in that big project you're working on, that team you're perfecting, or that mission you are working to achieve, you need a back-up plan.

Because bad stuff happens and it's much better to be ready when it does.

Do you have a back-up plan for your biggest project?

-- Douglas Brent Smith

Would your organization benefit from more high performance leadership training? Contact me today about bringing our workshops to your location. A great way to start is with Supervising for Success. Not sure if we're for you? Start the conversation with our free webinar How To Achieve Your Goals.

doug@frontrangeleadership.com

Comments

Measures Matter

Some people measure quantify first and quality later. Some people measure money first and impact to the team later (not even second!). How you measure productivity might determine your character and your reputation. Put people first. -- doug smith

Your Reputation

More authority means higher levels of responsibility. More power requires more service to others, not less. What you do with your power is who you will be known as. Also, how you use the power you have creates who people will remember you as. How do you want to be remembered? -- doug smith

What You Need

Use what you've learned to become what you need. -- doug smith

New Ideas

New ideas won't break you but they can make you bigger. -- doug smith

Personally

Improving performance does require us to take our work seriously. But it does not require us to take ourselves too seriously. Taking things personally is a waste of self-esteem. -- doug smith

For example

Get good at something that won't obsolete itself. For example: emotional intelligence creating great conversations encouraging people leadership What would you add to the list? Which ones are you developing? -- doug smith

Decide

What do you want? Are you getting what you want? Intention is direction. Decide. And, then go. -- doug smith

High Performance Leadership Combination

We can rationalize anything without making it justified. Leaders should always ask: who is this good for other than me? High performance leadership does NOT mean performance at any cost. It means performance that serves a noble cause while also benefiting people. High performance leadership is a combination. Results without relationships are shallow and temporary. Take care of both, and you'll be a high performance leader. -- doug smith

Start With Kindness

When you start with kindness you don't have to stay there, but you probably will. It works better for others. It works better for you. If you're human, you'll probably relapse. It does take practice to stay the course. The course starts by starting. When you start with kindness, it becomes more naturally the way. High performance leadership develops from the core leadership strengths of clarity, creativity, courage, and compassion. Build one of those strengths today thru some act of kindness and the others will get stronger as well. -- doug smith

The Problem With Compromises

Think about the last time you compromised on something. Whether it was a big compromise or a little compromise, how do you feel about it now? While we often call it "meet in the middle" it seldom does. Compromises are not automatically fair, no matter how implied that fairness is. Someone usually gets more out of a compromise than the person they are "compromising" with. If the low end is you, you don't like it -- and you remember that. If the top end of the compromise is you, you probably forget all about it even though the inequity simmers in the background. Compromises must be constantly revisited because they are inevitably unfair. If you get the chance to balance things out, your relationship will prosper. If you miss that chance, the relationship will suffer. What's your choice? -- doug smith

High Performance Leadership

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