Plan & Manage
Main goal: Prioritize, organize and follow-up
We all heard about setting goals and planning for the future. But most of us have no idea how to do this. How can you have a goal when the outcome is so dependent on other people and their actions? This is a common question and might stop you from developing the right goals for yourself and your business.
Let me give you a tip here. Don’t see a goal as a given outcome. Instead, see it as a direction to go towards. For that, you need to know your priorities. Those are the pillars that stop you from getting off track. For example: If your goal is financial independence and your priority is the environment, then your actions towards your goal will never be against the environment. Your pillars could be your family or friends, animals or anything that is important to you. Whatever it is, it won’t make it harder to achieve your goal, you will just take another path and different actions.
In short, planning and management are about:
- Setting long-, medium- and short-term goals
- Defining priorities and action plans
- Adapting to unforeseen changes
Let’s look at each skill and see what each level will bring you:
Define Goals
| Level | Ability |
| 1 | I can clarify what my goals are in a simple value-creating activity. |
| 2 | I can identify alternative goals to create value in a simple context. |
| 3 | I can describe my goals for the future in line with my strengths, ambitions, interests and achievements. |
| 4 | I can set short-term goals that I can act on. |
| 5 | I can define long-term goals arising from the vision for my (or my team’s) value-creating activity. |
| 6 | I can match short-term, midterm and long-term goals to the vision for my (or my team’s) value-creating activity. |
| 7 | I can design a strategy to achieve goals in line with my (or my team’s) vision. |
| 8 | I can manage the balance between the need for creativity and for control so that my organisation’s capacity to achieve its goals is protected and nurtured. |
Plan And Organise
| Level | Ability |
| 1 | I can carry out a simple plan for value-creating activities. |
| 2 | I can deal with a range of simple tasks at the same time without feeling uncomfortable. |
| 3 | I can create an action plan which identifies the necessary steps to achieve my goals. |
| 4 | I can allow for the possibility of changes to my plans. |
| 5 | I can summarise the basics of project management. |
| 6 | I can apply the basics of project management in managing a value-creating activity. |
| 7 | I can develop and stick to a detailed project management plan, adjusting to changing circumstances to make sure goals are reached. |
| 8 | I can design managerial procedures to effectively deliver value in challenging circumstances. |
Develop Sustainable Business Plans
| Level | Ability |
| 1 | N/A |
| 2 | N/A |
| 3 | I can develop a business model for my idea. |
| 4 | I can define the key elements that make up the business model necessary to deliver the value I have identified. |
| 5 | I can develop a business plan based on the model, describing how to achieve the value identified. |
| 6 | I can organise my value creating activities using planning methods such as business and marketing plans. |
| 7 | I can keep my planning methods updated and adapt them to changing circumstances. |
| 8 | I can adapt my value creating activity’s business model to face new challenges. |
Define Priorities
| Level | Ability |
| 1 | I can recall the order of steps that was needed in a simple value creating activity I took part in. |
| 2 | I can identify the basic steps that are needed in a value-creating activity. |
| 3 | I can priorities the basic steps in a value creating activity. |
| 4 | I can set my own priorities and act on them. |
| 5 | I can define the priorities to meet my (or my team’s) vision. |
| 6 | I can stay focused on the priorities set, despite changing circumstances. |
| 7 | I can define priorities in uncertain circumstances, with partial or ambiguous information. |
| 8 | N/A |
Monitor Your Progress
| Level | Ability |
| 1 | I can recognise how much progress I have made on a task. |
| 2 | I can monitor whether a task is going to plan. |
| 3 | I can identify different types of data that are necessary for monitoring the progress of a simple value-creating activity. |
| 4 | I can set basic milestones and observation indicators to monitor the progress of my value-creating activity. |
| 5 | I can describe different methods for performance and impact monitoring. |
| 6 | I can define what data is needed to monitor how effective my value-creating activities are and an appropriate way to collect them. |
| 7 | I can develop the performance indicators I (or my team) need to monitor progress towards a successful outcome in changing circumstances. |
| 8 | I can design and put in place a data collection plan to monitor whether my venture is achieving its aims. |
Be Flexible And Adapt To Changes
| Level | Ability |
| 1 | I am open to changes. |
| 2 | I can confront and deal with changes in a constructive way. |
| 3 | I can change my plans based on the needs of my team. |
| 4 | I can adapt my plans to achieve my goals in light of changes that are outside my control. |
| 5 | I can embrace change that brings new opportunities for value creation. |
| 6 | I can anticipate and include change along the value-creating process. |
| 7 | I can use the results of monitoring to adjust vision, aims, priorities, resource planning, action steps or any other aspect of the value-creating process. |
| 8 | I can communicate effectively to the organisation the reason for changes and adjustments. |
Note
If you are interested in learning and practising this skill group, please use the form on this page and tell us about it. We use this info for our planning for future programs and we will keep you up-to-date about it.
