Have a Plan

From the book The Management Methods of Jesus, by Bob Briner:

'It is amazing how few companies have a master plan by which they chart their course and measure their progress. Even fewer individuals have constructed a plan for their lives with short-term, intermediate, and long-range goals. This is a fundamental mistake.

Jesus had a plan and adhered to it unfailingly. This is a major reason for his success. He knew where he was going, and he went there. Nothing deterred him.

A fundamental management principle then, both for individuals and for organizations, is to have a plan to which you are deeply committed, and then set out with determination to accomplish it. Without a plan, you have nowhere to go, nothing toward which to direct your energies. Without a plan, you can only react to circumstances. A plan puts you in charge of your energies and activities. You become proactive, not reactive.'

Winners know that a plan puts them in charge of their energies and activities.