How Our Move Provides Three Lessons for Your Next Strategic Plan

Rick and I just did something big.

Actually it was very big.

We sold our home of 24 years.

It took just over three months from the moment we signed the listing agreement to the moment the last item was delivered to our new home. As we were coming into the home stretch, I realized that's roughly the same amount of time a team spends developing a strategic plan. And that led to three helpful lessons for this month's newsletter.

Stay focused on what you’re optimizing for.

Rick and I were clear about why we were selling and what was important (and not important) in the process. News flash: selling a home of 24 years unleashes all the feelings, and there were moments when I hopped on the emotional roller coaster. (I remember one special call to our extraordinary real estate agent, Terri Brown, who patiently coaxed me off the roller coaster. 😉) What also helped was coming back to what we were optimizing for. Strategy can unleash all the feels, too. When that happens, make sure you're clear about what you're optimizing for.

Don’t delay the inevitable.

A good friend helped with the initial wave of packing and moving boxes. After packing half a dozen boxes I was ready to call it a day, but he kept pushing with "Let's just do one more." A fellow weightlifter, he was pushing to failure. I was leaving reps in reserve because I did not want to pack one more box! But he knew we would reach a point where having tackled those extra boxes would help us get across the finish line on time -- and he was right. As you work through your planning process, make sure you're not delaying packing a box (or two).

Make it yours.

We all know people who move into a new home and six months later are still waiting to hang photos and art. We are not those people. On the third day of living in our new home our art installer came out and professionally placed 30 pieces on the walls. (Hiring someone for that task is an outstanding use of funds to maintain sanity in a relationship.) Magically, the condo we're renting felt like ours. How can you -- and more importantly how can your team - have the same feeling of "this feels like ours" when your strategy is done?

I'll share one more fun story about moving. How it started: I had grand plans to sell items on Facebook Marketplace and similar apps, using the proceeds to fund an amazing two week trip to Kauai.  How it ended: I was putting items on our street corner with big signs that read "FREE." (My ego would like to report that everything we put on the corner was picked up.)

Here's my new rule: if one thing comes into our home, one (or two) things go out. I do not need more stuff. What I do need — and what I do value — are experiences. "Experiences over things" has been a second half of life mantra that just took on a bit more significance. I hope it does for you, too.

Over the last 90 days I limited the number of new clients that I began working with to ensure I could take care of existing clients and be a good partner to Rick and Rocket during the move. Now that we're on the other side of the move, I have additional capacity that's opened up. If you're interested in 1:1 coaching, a workshop for your team, or help with your upcoming strategy, just reach out and we'll set up a time to jam!