90 DAY PLAN DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS

• Watch the Big Rocks video and think them through. 
• Work on your NOW and WHERE summary points prior to starting the Plan.
• Review your 90-Day Calendar and add important days, deadlines, and milestones. 

Define the 90 Day (3 Month) period that you are planning for. 

TIP: Align your planning with calendar or financial years and associated quarters.

Complete a short summary of where your business and you are NOW. Succinct dot points that summarise notes and analysis you have done in your Ideas Journal or notebook. Do the same for WHERE you would like to be in 3 months’ time. 

TIP: Your WHERE may include aspirational goals that you can define in the next section, “Key Measures”. 

Key Measures include the targets that will help you define your success over the next quarter. Map the measures that give you the clarity and help you define your focus. 

TIP: In business, it’s easy to focus on sales because they are easily measured. However, ensure you have some measure that are lead indicators of sales e.g. Sales Pipeline, New Customers, etc. You may have other targets you need to meet – include them. 

Big Rocks are the “Must-Do Objectives” for the next year. They are very strategic and large in scope. “Update the website” is not a big rock but “Grow our Market Share” is a big rock that the website update could be a part of. Add 3 or 4 Big Rocks to ensure you are focused and strategic. 

TIP: Your Big Rocks should flow from a larger plan like your Annual Operating Plan and/or Strategic Plan. Read “Cascading your Plans” for more info. 

Remember this plan is for you and your Business. The Big Rocks are predominantly the things that the business should be focused on. 

We suggest that you could add an additional Big Rock that is focused on “You” and growing you as a Leader in your business.

Strategies are where you will start to focus your activity. Create them by brainstorming the large projects that will enable you to deliver your Big Rocks. They are longer term actions that are “large in scope”. 

Remember, this is a 90 Day Plan so think about the projects you will start and/or complete in the next 3 months. Add 1 to 3 Strategies for each Big Rock. 

TIP: Use a cascading numbering system for your Actions e.g. 1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2.1, etc. so that you can easily track the strategic linkages in your plan. 

Your Strategic Actions are where “the rubber hits the road.” What are the key actions to deliver on your Strategies? Focus on the Actions that you will commence or complete in this 90 Day Cycle. Keep your Strategic Actions at a high level as you will be able to get more granularity in your plan as you move to Monthly Plans. 

TIP: Keep 1 to 3 Strategic Actions per Strategy. Remember that cascading your plans is about getting the detail at the right level.

For each Strategic Action, you should allocate responsibility (“Who” is responsible for ensuring this project is delivered) and timing (“When” will this Strategic Action be completed in this quarter?). You can use initials for people and tick off the relevant month in the quarter for completion e.g. M1, M2 or M3. 

TIP: Allocate responsibility to only 1 person rather than to a team even though a number of people may work on a task. “Who should be responsible for ensuring the task is completed?” This doesn’t mean that they have to do all the work, just that they are responsible for seeing the action is completed. Accountability is the key to productivity. 

These final elements are good to do after you have finalised the Strategies and Actions section. Look over the plan and get a sense for what you are trying to achieve in the next quarter – your Theme – and name it. 

In the example, it’s “Growth” but could be “Enhance my capabilities”. Then work out how you will celebrate if you are successful in delivering your Plan over the next 3 months. 

If you have a Team, then this may need to be a Team Celebration. If you are a solopreneur then it could be focused on you. Your celebration can be as simple as a “Get massage” to “Buy a Ferrari” but make it a tangible celebration of your success.

Finally, look across your plan and determine if there are any additional resources (people, equipment, technology, software, etc.) that you will require to execute your plan. 

TIP: Make your Theme something that is inspiring to you and/or your Team. 

Once you have a Final Draft of your Plan, take the time to stop what you’re doing and reflect on your plan. 

Ask yourself the following questions: 

Is there anything missing? Is there anything I need to change? 
Is it achievable given everything else I have going on? Be realistic. 
Will this plan help me achieve my longer term goals? 
How will I hold myself accountable to this plan? Buddy, Coach, Peer Group?

If you are happy with your Plan (you know you can change it at anytime you like) then move to the next section and create your First Monthly Plan.