Step 2: List the Steps

After you have written a planning statement, you can then develop the steps you will take to achieve them. As you identify the steps in your plan, establish completion dates for each step. Do not assign a final number to your steps at this point, as you may need to add additional steps later.

Example: I know a person – let’s call her Elizabeth – whose planning statement was to become a manager in her organisation within four years. The initial step of her plan looked something like this:

This part of the planning process is simple.  Most people can probably write a planning statement and then list the steps in their plan.  In fact, this is where most individuals stop their planning process.  But wisely, Elizabeth realised that she needed to also look carefully at the steps in her plan, noting anything that could cause difficulties – let’s call them “critical steps”.