There’s no reason to have a plan B because it distracts from plan A.
— Will Smith
.
“That night I said,
“I love you”
There was no Plan B,
Only us and forever”
— Eric Overby, Journey
How often does Plan A work for you, professionally or personally?
Some people have Plan A, B… Z. Is this wise?
Having multiple backup plans can certainly make you feel more comfortable… but; what if Plan A is the only Amazing one, while Plan B is likely to be Good or Plan C is likely to be Not So Bad, etc.
In the business world; yes, we need to have multiple plans given the safety net value of diverse strategies. However, allocating the appropriate resources, making “die on your sword” commitments and enabling a Can Do Culture to give Plan A the highest probability for success… is seldom seen… since you can just fall back on Plan B. Steve Jobs was an excellent leader for driving and delivering Plan A culture, products, etc.!
Why do organizations and people often settle for Plan B, C, etc., while justifying why each of these plans are better than they appear (or actually are)? Here’s a few reasons.
- Holistic-DMQ (Decision Making Quality) – Overall, multi-dimensional decision making is compromised. When our Holistic-DMQ is subjectively overrated, we enter the DMQ-Circular-Loop Syndrome while wondering why things aren’t working out the way we had hoped.
- DMQ-Courage – Insufficient courage to go all in on Plan A… we start Plan A, with Plan B in the back of our mind, which often, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This lack of DMQ-Courage is generated from multiple sources including:
- Social Norm Scripts telling us what is perceived to be acceptable
- Competencies aligned with challenging the status-quo, such as Communication Conflict Resilience (we need a healthy focus on Task Conflict vs. Relationship Conflict)
- Multiple human emotions aligned with failure, self-centeredness, embarrassment, regret, etc.
- DMQ-Inner Circle – These are typically “support” groups vs. “challenge” groups, that affirm vs. challenge our decisions. Instead of having an Inner-Circle that only supports both our Good and Not-So-Good decisions, why not have a DMQ-Inner-Circle that has:
- Experienced the difference between Amazing and Good, to objectively provide both information and affirmation, appropriately
- Lived through many failures and the intelligent risks that need to be taken while pursuing Plan A
- Hyper-Appreciated the Amazing things in life… and vowed, to never return to just Good… and why someone may want to consider living life this way
- What Does Amazing Look Like – Very few genuinely understand or ever experience Amazing; so, it’s tough to seize a vision, if we don’t know what it looks like and how it makes us feel.
You’re probably still wondering why life is more beautiful when you don’t have a Plan B… and there’s a high chance you could fall on your face, get run over by a steamroller, lose everything, etc.
It comes down to a single, jugular question,
“Would you rather intelligently pursue Amazing,
with all your energy, while accepting the risk of failure; or,
play it safe while achieving “good enough”?
Warning: Holistic-DMQ needs to be accurately aligned with the magnitude of these jugular decisions. If Holistic-DMQ isn’t properly aligned, the likelihood of recognizing what Amazing looks like and achieving it, are also slim. Only after more time passes, can we look in the rearview mirror of life, to realize what was forfeited. I heard a podcast from a psychologists who referenced this point and he shared how much he realized he had forfeited, simply because he didn’t like how the information was delivered… not that it was inaccurate.
Imagine:
- Living wherever you truly want to live vs. where you need to live
- Working in a role you absolutely love vs. a role you need to work
- Being with a significant other who is holistically Amazing & you wish time would stop when you’re around them vs. _________
- Helping others as often and in any way you’d like vs. only when it feels necessary to make you feel good
Life is extremely short!
Windows of Amazing, experienced during our life journey, are extremely rare!
Watch the 5-Minute Highlight Video of Your Life while you’re making Jugular Decisions, to
seize and hyper-appreciate your rare opportunities for potential Windows of Amazing!
If this content resonates with you and you would appreciate creative ways to help discover your Windows of Amazing…
DM me on LinkedIn or directly (jim.roncevich@ipgsocialimpact.com).
Here’s how we can help, if you’re genuinely committed to improving your performance in 2021.
- Holistic coaching centered on professional performance while incorporating whole-life improvements.
- Fundraising for Non-Profits needing to raise $1.2+ Million at no cost to the Non-Profit
- Net Income for Companies needing to add $9.7+ Million to their bottom-line, at no net cost to the company
Intelligent Impact!
Who changes the world? I believe it’s almost exclusively the Top-7%. They are the only ones with the Talent Portfolios and social consciences needed to actually implement significant positive social impact.
If you believe you’re one of these executives, we’d love to explore possible opportunities.
Get MAD! Get Making A Difference! ~ JR
