Page 12 - August 2020 Voices

FROM THE DESK

The Importance of a Plan

Eldred Brown, DTM - Club Growth Director

If you fail to plan, you plain to fail. Or, as I’d finish. I didn’t follow my own agenda as closely
heard in my Marine Corps training, poor prior as I would have liked, but having the agenda in
planning produces poor performance. So why front of me showed me that I had fallen behind

is planning so crucial to success that failure to and forced me to adjust on the fly so I could
plan produces such poor results? accomplish my goal of finishing on time.
A plan shows clearly what needs to be done, Have you ever tried to drive to a remote
what goals are to be achieved, and the amount location to which you’ve never been before

of time to spend on completing the set goals. In without a map to guide you? You probably got
this way, planning and time management are lost, didn’t you? I did that recently when I used
closely related. my navigator rather than a map to travel to the
For example, in planning my first Area/ bottom of Abert Rim near Lakeview a few weeks

Division Director Training session last month, ago. The navigator took me to the rim, all right,
PJ recommended that I write down a few major but to the top of the rim. I got an excellent view
time points in my outline. That way I could see of the lowlands from this favorite hang-gliding
when I was ahead or behind schedule and adjust launch point, but it wasn’t where I really wanted

accordingly. I wrote a comprehensive agenda of to be. You probably know from experience that
what I planned to present and when. The agenda I was much less likely to get lost if I had used a
was itemized down to every minute, which was proper map to guide me to my destination.
much more detailed than I really needed it to Plans are somewhat like that map. A plan

be, but it helped me. The first time I presented helps you see where you want to go and how you
the training session I recognized that I had want to get there. If you don’t know where you’re
fallen seriously behind schedule because of the going, how will you know when you arrive?
challenges of moving participants to and from A plan for your personal life will help you

breakout rooms for the required small group achieve what you want and map out how to
activities. To finish on time, as Toastmasters get there. When you draft a Club Success Plan,
pride themselves on doing, I realized that I had to you will help your Club decide what is most
cut out one small group activity and rush to the important and map your Club’s path to success

12 ONE COMMUNITY