You can’t go anywhere these days and not hear about how bad the economy is and how it’s getting worse.  Is it true?  I suppose so.  But what you don’t hear much of, is that there are still people starting successful businesses, making money and living life to its fullest.  There is no need to hunker down and try and ride it out.  You can flourish during this difficult time, but only if you have a plan.

I think of the Tour De France bicycle race.  All 125 plus guys are highly trained, professional athletes at the peak of their game.   In the early days of the 21-day race, the leader’s jersey changes hands frequently — but nobody is really too concerned about who’s ahead while the race is still meandering through the country side.  Everyone waits for the race to get to the mountains before they start to take it seriously.  Because it’s in the mountains the stronger riders put a big distance between themselves and the weaker riders.  You can’t win the tour unless you can win in the mountains.

It’s like that in business.  The pack stays together in the peaceful, prosperous times.  Everyone does well, and it’s hard to distinguish who the stronger players are.  Sure, people jockey for position, and wrestle the “leader’s jersey” from the next guy, but by and large, this isn’t where the race is won.  It’s won in the mountains of difficult financial times.  And just like the tour, those savvy, well-prepared business people will put a lot of space between themselves and the weaker participants.  And like the tour, if you can’t win in the mountains of adversity, you can’t win.

But nobody wins the tour, or in business without a plan.  Do you think Lance Armstrong, or Greg Lemond, or Bernard Hinault, or any of a long list of others just somehow lucked into a win on this stage?  Would you characterize them as the luckiest guys on the planet?  Of course not.  They rode a very calculated race.  They knew exactly when and where they would attack, and they orchestrated everything, so that all the pieces were in place when the time came.

You have a plan and you work your plan.  You also have a backup plan (or two or three or four,) and when your plan doesn’t work you implement the backup plan(s).  But at the end of the day, nothing is left to chance.  You know where the economy is going.  You know where you’re going.  You keep track of every detail and you orchestrate everything so that when you are ready to attack, things go off smoothly.  Does that mean you can’t deviate from the plan?  Of course not.  In times like these, the plan is actually pretty fluid.  But you don’t rush ahead blindly.  You slide from one version of the plan to the next totally seamlessly.  No matter what happens, you have a contingency for it.

When you’ve planned to that degree — taken into account every possibility and formulated an effective plan for it, you’re on your way to success.  I hope you’ll take strategic planning seriously — now even more than ever.