Summary:  It’s the New Year and you know what you want to accomplish. Is it enough? Implement the 5 W’s to ensure you accomplishments are a reality by the end of the year.

Welcome 2013!

It’s the new year, which for many is a great place to start looking at planning. You most likely already know where you want to go this year, where you want your business to be and generally what it will take to get you there. Is it enough?

Planning for our business does turn into those once a year activities where we have broad goals and plans on what we want to accomplish. Is it enough?

If you haven’t done so already, now is the best time to put some details, timelines and actions to your plan. This should include the five w’s:

Why: each action needs to be associated to a “goal” or “achievement” for the year. Is it related to marketing, sales, people, finances or something else.

Who: You can’t do it by yourself. Who on your team will be responsible for carrying out the actions? If you don’t give one person the responsibility it won’t get done.

What: Details, details, details. Be specific or SMART. Have your accomplishments or goals written in the SMART format – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time based.

When: What’s the deadline? When does it need to be started, completed, approved, etc. No deadline, no work. What’s the saying “if it weren’t for the last minute nothing would get done”.

Where: Depending on your product or service you may have accomplishments that will take place off-site. This can either be on-line, trade shows, networking, conference, etc. You will need to plan for time away from the office including travel.

These details will ensure you stay on target and have a successful year for your business.

How do you plan your activities? Would this work for you?