Seven Years On, Reflections on Your Oxygen Mask First: Plan, Plan and Plan Again

October 21, 2024
|In Article
|By Jess Webb

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

                    • Mike Tyson, prize fighter 

It’s interesting to see how similar the plans are, for executives we work with, in different industries and places in the world. If we were to take a cross section of a dozen plans, from different CEOs, their goals could almost be interchangeable.

All generally want to make similar things happen, at a high strategic level for their businesses, for themselves and in their lives.

Simplified Clarity

Over time, we’ve found that people who fill in and follow the Master Plan template talk about:

    • The clarity they get from zooming in on the couple of things that matter most, 10 years down the road, and then what they have do in the next three years to get there. It makes their plans and their lives very simple.
    • Particularly helpful are the reflection questions to answer, every quarter, that reveal what’s working, what’s not, and how they might do better.

Those who have the discipline to continue to update their goals every quarter (and their progress monthly) – easily done by adding it to their calendar – use a simple, colour measurement:

    • Green – Completely on track
    • Yellow – A little off but fine
    • Red – Challenged.

Watch the video to learn how to map the next decade of your life.

Your Master Plan

Our Master Plan template (revised since I wrote the book) now spans 10 years, with updates every 90 days, every three years and annually.

We also added a second section to provide longer-term perspective and to bridge between the end of the final years of our life and the next three years.

And created a simplified, one-page version to, for example, build out a plan for 2025, with annual goals for Work, Self and Life, followed by sections to revise every quarter.

Use the template to suit your needs. For example, I’ve seen some people split the Self column in half so that they can complete it with their spouse or partner to create a joint Master Plan.

The Challenge

    • Are you clear on the #1 thing you want to achieve in the next decade in terms of your
      • Work:             Career, money and investments
      • Self:               Being happy, strong and healthy
      • Life:                Friends, family and community
    • Are you and the people close to you, in your life, aligned around these things?

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