Backward planning draws a map to success

Begin with the end in mind.

The first I heard of this strategy is when I read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” back in the 1990s. After reading that book as a management team we started to spend a lot of time figuring out exactly where we wanted to end up. Just saying “more” is a murky destination.

We were a little company doing no more than $5 million a year in revenue and we finally agreed on a target of $100 million in revenue. Laughable at first, really by all of us, but we started to at least brainstorm on what $100 million would look like as an organization and worked backward.

Long story short, 15 years later — with a lot of help, hard work and luck — we hit our goal. Coincidentally, that seemed about the right time to sell the company, and we all went on our merry ways. Amazing what a good goal and some backward planning can do.

So what are some of the things we decided we needed to do to get to $100 million?

The value of backward planning

The first thing was to recognize and agree that what we were doing previously was not getting us there. We decided we needed a few experts to help us with hiring sales reps who could sell more and larger deals, marketing experts to help us refine our message, and a finance expert who knew how to structure the company and financials to be attractive to a buyer one day.

It is amazing the value we received from experts who would charge us for a day or two of knowledge transfer in their fields. One guy charged us $10,000 for one day’s consulting and feedback — and his advice turned out to be worth millions.

We also had help to figure out how to become a public company and to do acquisitions. We even figured out how to do business with more overseas companies, which eventually became 50% or our revenue.

Like a bad golf swing, it doesn’t help going to the driving range and hitting more balls. Get the coaching you need to grow. When something doesn’t go as planned, tweak your approach and take the attitude that surprises are not a surprise at all — we expect a few along the way.

By breaking down the giant leap into manageable steps, you are less likely to feel overwhelmed. We found a yearly focus was good and would track all year toward the yearly goal. If you can figure out a comfortable growth rate, then it’s just how long you can keep doing it.

We also found the approach enhanced motivation and made the journey more engaging. We tracked progress, celebrated milestones and stayed motivated.

The art of backward planning is not about predicting the future but shaping it. You begin with the end in mind and design your journey. So pick your destination, map out your steps and start planning.