Planning the year ahead:

Absolute essentials for success

RAMANI KANGARAARACHCHI

Dr. Naomal Balasuriya, a Motivational Speaker and Corporate Trainer in Sri Lanka and the Maldives has trained executives of over 100 top companies in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Dr. Balasuriya, the first doctor of medicine in Sri Lanka holds the degrees of Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the CIM (UK). This week he speaks on Planning the Year ahead with the Daily News Business to achieve Success.

For more details visit www.naomalbalasuriya.com or email [email protected]

Q. What is the most important factor in planning the year ahead?

A. I think the most important factor in planning the year ahead is knowing exactly what you want to achieve.

In other words, where you want to be as an individual, as a family or as an organization. This must evolve from the long term dreams of the individual, family or company.

Q. Is planning essential for success?

A. Definitely yes. They say failing to plan is planning to fail. In our own jargon, it is said that if you go with preparation, you end up in Kataragama. If not, you end up elsewhere. Similarly, one has to know exactly where he or she wants to go. What exactly he or she wants to achieve.

It is like going to do your marketing without a list. Imagine you go to a supermarket without a list of what you want to buy. You end up buying a whole heap of things that you don’t need.

However, if you plan your marketing before hand and draw up a list of what exactly you want to buy, then, half your job is done. You merely have to go and pick your things off the shelves. A plan similarly gives you in black and white your targets for the year ahead.

Q. Does having a plan ensure that you achieve your objectives?

A. Certainly not. It will only tell you about the journey you are to embark on. It will make you and your team clear about where you want to get to, how you will get there, the resources needed and what you have to do to get there.

Getting there or in other words implementing the plan is the next step. Merely having a marketing list is not enough. It will only help you to buy the stuff you really need. Going in to the supermarket and picking your stuff according to your list is essential. Similarly, with a plan, implementing and controlling it is all important. If not, all you have is a plan.

Q. How can a person plan his or her life?

A. Basically, there are five steps to any plan. They are firstly a situational analysis or where you are now. Secondly, long term direction or where you want to be. Thirdly, strategies or how you intend getting there.

Fourthly, an action plan to ensure arrival and fifthly controls to ask ourselves if we are on the correct track. In planning the year ahead, one must do a situational analysis to identify where one is with regards to one’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Given this analysis, he or she must come up with the objectives to be achieved for the year ahead.

Once you come up with your objectives, you got to decide on how you are going to achieve them. Then you need to come up with an action plan with mini and major milestones to break up a big task into a series of smaller tasks. Having done this one has to ensure controls to stay focused on one’s targets.

Q. What are the key success factors of planning the year ahead?

A. I look at the subject of planning as if one is to embark on a journey. As such, the key success factors (or the KSFs) in planning this journey are knowing where you want to go, identifying where you are now, knowing what needs to be done to get there, coming up with an achievable action plan with realistic deadlines and then controlling and monitoring this plan of action.

Q. How important is a positive attitude in the planning process.

A. I would say that a positive attitude is extremely important not only in the planning process but also in the implementation process. A positive, yes, “never say no” attitude becomes important in the planning process as it helps one to set greater objectives to be achieved in the year ahead. Whilst implementing this plan a great positive attitude helps in a major way once again when one is faced with barriers, limitations and frustrations.

Q. What advice would you give an individual in setting objectives?

A. I would say that one must ensure that the objectives when achieved must provide that individual happiness and peace of mind. To ensure this, one must ensure that the objectives cover all the eight areas of their lives mainly academic, professional, family, social, spiritual, financial, physical and eternal. This will ensure a balance in their lives and thereby happiness and peace of mind.

Q. Finally, what ideas would you share with the Sri Lankan business community in planning 2009?

A. Given the tough economic conditions in the country and globally, the main thing that our business community must keep in mind is that a tough time doesn’t last long but tough people do.

Secondly, there are three things that they should keep in mind. Firstly, identify the main things you want to achieve in 2009. Secondly, identify the main things you need to do to achieve those objectives and thirdly remember that the main thing is to achieve your objectives.