For better planning, assess your strengths

Rural people are strong. Let’s start with our strengths when planning. Photo by Julius Silver from Pexels

Too often, our planning starts from what we don’t have. We focus on what to improve, what we lack, what we messed up last year.

My friend, educator Kristie Pretti-Frontczak suggested a strengths assessment instead. Here are her questions to kick off your thinking:

What do you aspire to accomplish within the next year, within the next 3 months, within the next 30 days?
What goals will move you toward your aspirations?
If you were to rank the top three goals to begin working on immediately, what would they be?
What do you see as your strengths that will help you to accomplish your goals?
What do you see as opportunities to learn or grow that will help you to accomplish your goals?
If you could have one tool or piece of information that would be key to your aspirations, what would it be?

I find her approach of starting with your strengths, instead of what needs fixing, refreshing. I’ve been using it in my new year planning, and it’s looking good.

If you have a favorite planning tool, let’s hear about it!

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About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.