To do so, take out three sheets of paper. Label them “One year from now,” “Five years from now” and “10 years from now.” On each, answer questions like these:
- “Who will have left our organization by that time, and what will that mean?”
- “What kind of people will I have hired?”
- “Which products and services will we have added or discontinued?”
- “What clients, vendors and other outside entities will still be in the picture?” “What new ones will have entered it?”
- “What functions will we have discontinued or outsourced?”
- “Which of my activities or responsibilities will I have discarded, and which added?”
You’ll be surprised at the clear picture that evolves and encouraged by how well you can plan for it.