Seven Fail-Proof Action Planning Criteria

Do you have a million ideas you want to implement but not sure where to start? Well, join the club!

If you want to start taking meaningful action, here are some criteria you can use (any one will work, or a combination):

  1. Which idea is a `low hanging fruit’? (i.e. possible to implement immediately, with relative ease)
  2. Which action/s are urgent and must be taken now?
  3. Which action (borrowing from Stephen Covey’s ideas) is important but not urgent?  Don’t neglect important-not-urgent items, because if you don’t take action on these type of matters, they have a funny way of becoming
    urgent!
  4. Which action will provide most visibility (for you personally or for the issue)?  This is an especially useful concept when you’re a leader and want to demonstrate that you really are serious about a particular issue.
  5. Which action, if taken, will give you the best ROI? (best return on your
    investment of effort, time, money and other resources).
  6. Which action, once taken, will create a meaningful ripple effect?

    And finally, the BIG one, the `core values’ criterion:
  7. Which action, if implemented, will be most aligned with your legacy and the way in which you want to be remembered many years from now?

As you can see, there are many ways to look at the selection and implementation of ideas, and each has its own merit.

Are there any that you’d like to add? what has worked for you?

This entry was posted in Blog, Leadership, Miscellaneous. Bookmark the permalink.

LEARNING Hub

Access free learning tools, articles and other resources for you and your team.

REAL™ Solutions for Abrasive Leaders

Find out how you, as a senior executive or HR leader, can help restore the effectiveness of an abrasive leader.

Training Services

Discover how our training programs will energize and grow your people.

Organizational Solutions

Find out how we can help you with organizational development and initiatives.
Copyright © 2015 Bar-David Consulting. All Rights Reserved. Website by Geist Creative.