Are the plans you have ones that you just think up and then ask God to bless? Or are you getting your plans from God? How do you know the difference? If you’re getting your plans from God they’ll be big enough for Him to fit in them. Someone said: “Make no small plans for they have not the power to move the souls of men.” Big thinking attracts big thinkers.
1. Make time to think it through
Howard Hendricks said, “Nothing is more profitable than serious thinking, and nothing is more demanding.” Leaders need time to think, time to get away. Leaders make time for think time. A law of leadership. What happens when you pray and plan? God gives you a vision. That’s the mark of all leadership. You’ve got to have vision to be a leader.
2. Be prepared for opportunities when they come
When opportunity knocks, you need to be ready to open the door. All of life is full of opportunities. There are overlooked opportunities all around us. A lot of times we’re not ready for them. This is where the elimination of fear comes into play. As a leader in your church or the marketplace, you need to admit there are times you are afraid to take that risk. That’s OK! You still move ahead and fully expect great things to happen.
3. Establish some realistic goals
I learned this leadership principle wile working for Navistar International in the early 1990’s as we learned about Self Directed work teams. We were expected as a team of ten accountants to set goals for our team that completed the accounting functions of a large corporation.
There are two common errors we make in goal setting: We set them too low and we try to accomplish them too quickly. Don’t be afraid to set big goals, make big plans — so big that God has to bail you out! God loves big planning.
4. Prepare for problems
Question to ask yourself in your own planning when you’re anticipating problems: What could hold me back? In planning a project, ask yourself, Why don’t I have it already? What could hold me back? What are the problems? What could go wrong? If anything could go wrong, it will.
5. Calculate the cost
This is the budgeting part of planning. In planning it takes both time and money. Have you learned that everything in life has a price tag?
6. Execute the plan
This is where you can tell a great leader from a mediocre leader. A great leader will execute the plan and carry it out to completion. When a leader doesn’t execute a well thought out plan, they are not giving full commitment and encouragement to their team. you have to constantly be monitoring the plan and making adjustments along the way.