Last weekend, I tried to create my own Intentional Business Strategic Plan. It was a painful, difficult, lonely process, and I vowed to never do it again.
Not the strategic planning. I know I need to do that every 90 days. Doing it ALONE is what I'm never doing again.
I'm not sure there is any lonelier exercise than putting together a full-scale strategic plan by yourself. My day was spent mostly avoiding the work altogether, followed by some tears, a big glass of wine, and finally, in the late afternoon, a rush of work that resulted in a plan that I'll describe as "meh" at best.
Why was it so hard? Because I firmly believe that strategic planning is something that requires more than one person. You need someone to bounce ideas off. Someone to ask hard questions and give differing opinions. Someone to question your prejudices, and call you on your bullshit. And even if you have a team to work with, or a business partner, having an impartial third party with no skin in the game is still key. A person who doesn't bring all the baggage of the past and all the inter-company politics and dynamics can ask questions that people on the inside can't, and can bring ideas from other places they've been. Being outside the feedback loop is incredibly helpful.
So. I have some kind of plan for now. But in 90 days, when it is time to review, you better believe I'm getting someone to help me work through my revisions and updates. There's not a glass of wine big enough to make me do this solo again.