Plan to Succeed

This podcast, Plan to Succeed, explains that success—whether in business or personal life—depends on intentional, structured planning rather than wishful thinking. A plan is defined as a clear, step-by-step roadmap that identifies what to do, when, where, how, and with whom. The speaker emphasizes that in today’s project-driven world, organizations and individuals alike must prepare thoroughly, because proper planning directly influences outcomes.

Drawing from professional experience in project management and Lean Six Sigma, the speaker highlights how businesses rely on structured systems such as project charters, Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), RACI charts, and the DMAIC process (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control). These tools ensure that goals are aligned with actions, resources are properly allocated, risks are considered, and responsibilities are clearly defined. Ultimately, organizations succeed by understanding their purpose (“why”), setting measurable objectives, and continuously adjusting to changes.

The podcast then shifts to a practical, personal framework for achieving goals through five key steps:

1. Develop a Plan (Define Your “Why”)
The first step is to clearly identify your purpose. This includes understanding the benefit of your plan, the problem you are solving or opportunity you are pursuing, and whether your goal is realistic. A strong “why” provides motivation and direction. The speaker stresses that every plan serves an audience—even if it is just yourself—and must be grounded in a meaningful purpose.

2. Define the Plan (Structure and Clarity)
Next, you must clearly outline the details of your plan. This involves defining the scope, resources, budget, timeline, and specific actions required. Setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) is essential. At this stage, you bring clarity to your vision, ensuring that expectations are realistic and achievable.

3. Execute the Plan (Take Action)
Execution is where many people fail. No matter how detailed a plan is, it has no value without action. The speaker emphasizes that consistent effort—even small steps—is necessary to move forward. Dreaming without execution leads to stagnation, while action transforms plans into results.

4. Monitor Performance (Measure Progress)
Tracking progress is critical. By using key performance indicators or “signposts,” you can evaluate whether you are on track. Measurement allows for improvement and accountability. Without tracking progress, it is impossible to know if your efforts are effective or if adjustments are needed.

5. Close and Evaluate the Plan (Learn and Improve)
The final step is reflection. After completing a plan, you should evaluate what worked well and what did not. This includes assessing the effectiveness of the process, the people involved, the strength of your purpose, and the return on your investment. Lessons learned should be carried forward to improve future plans and avoid repeating mistakes.

Overall, the podcast’s central message is that achieving goals requires discipline, clarity, and persistence. By combining a strong purpose with structured planning, decisive action, continuous measurement, and thoughtful evaluation, individuals can significantly increase their chances of success.

Transcript

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Daniel Badigio Podcast. Welcome to the Forge by Design Podcast. This is your host, Daniel Badijo. In this episode, we'll be talking about the importance of developing a strategic plan. And if you want to reach your goals effectively, on time, and with a good return on investment, you must develop a strategic plan. The French journalist and poet Antoine Desant Experi once said, A goal without a plan is just a wish. So we must face the fact that we live in a very programmed and project-oriented world. Leadership places an enormous amount of effort in the upfront work of a business plan or project charter in order to ensure the correct course of actions is actually taken. Benjamin Franklin couldn't have said it better better when he cited by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. That's why the success of any individual, of any organization, is dependent on economic forecasting, advanced product quality planning, and effective project or program management. Companies have to establish first the scope of the project and determine the allocated resources and capital. They also establish who will sponsor the project, who will serve as the resident champion, and who are these cross-functional team members that will take on the actions of that plan or that project. In the project charter, action items are carefully assigned. This means they know who will do what, when, where, how, and with whom. In my world, this means that a complete breakdown of the activities will be specifically monitored and assigned to ensure success and prevent any bottlenecks along the way. This means that they establish the work breakdown structure or the WBS. Furthermore, the project charter identifies milestones and develops a detailed timeline to ensure who will be responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed. In many organizations, these roles are identified using a RASI chart. That's why it's called responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed. Metrics are also established to ensure that the expected results are obtained. Depending on the nature of the project, companies determine the risk factors, revise objectives, establish contingency plans, and adjust their timelines based on the market fluctuations or product and process design changes. Today in this podcast, I would like to personally address how you can achieve your goals this time around. Perhaps in the past you had many bottlenecks, many hindrances. Life did happen. Perhaps you had financial constraints, people who fell short of assisting you. Perhaps you had certain situations in your business that did not allow you to achieve that plan, that goal. But throughout this podcast, I'm going to give you some strategies on how this time around you will be able to become successful. Initially, I know I bombarded you with many acronyms and technical jargon or terminology, but I want to share something from my experience about how you can reach your goals. I will outline in this podcast five practical steps on how to align your actions with your desired outcomes. While at the same time, I would like to simply ask you questions along the way so that you can adjust that strategic plan this time around. For me, there is nothing more exciting than seeing someone truly passionate about their dreams. When I meet people whose eyes lit up as they speak with enthusiasm about their vision, their mission, their life plan, their objective, it truly energizes me. Unfortunately, many are not willing to spend the time required to turn those dreams into reality. However, I believe that after reviewing these five practical steps, you'll be able to accomplish each and every one of your goals. It's not about simply daydreaming, it's not about wishing, it's not about simply uh thinking what could be out there for you. If you want to achieve a goal, you must develop a strategic plan. The first step to accomplishing your goal is to develop a plan. It may sound very simple, but you must have a plan. I'm not saying you must have an opinion, I'm not saying that you must not have a wish. But if simply having an opinion or wish is what you've been carrying on in your mind and your heart for all these years, no wonder you have not accomplished that dream and that goal because you have never developed a strategic plan. In the most fundamental and simple terms, a plan is a step-by-step map in your mind or on paper for how you will do something. This means that you have to know your what, what to do. The what to do identifies your purpose. The when to do it identifies the timing, the where to do it identifies the location and direction. The how to do it identifies the strategy, and with whom to do it refers to your partnerships, who will collaborate, and who are the mutual beneficiaries of achieving that goal. Jeron DeFlander once said, good plans shape good decisions. That's why good planning helps to make elusive dreams come true. And that's what we want in this podcast. We do not want your dreams to become elusive. Simply wishing, simply desiring, simply imagining. We want you to achieve in this season of your life your goal. As simple as this may sound, it's not always easy. In business setting, this often is referred to as a project charter or a project. However, I recognize that not everyone uses that terminology. So we're going to keep it simple in this podcast and we're going to call it a plan. So you must have a plan, a step-by-step methodology on how you will accomplish that goal. Many of you listening may not be opening a business, but simply want some tools to forward your desired plan. And the first step of this plan, you must clearly know what you're trying to accomplish or what problem you're trying to solve. At this point, I would like to pause and recommend as I always do to take a pen and paper, uh, open your tablet or your laptop and take take these notes and write down these three questions. The first question is how will this benefit you or your target audience? Second question, what problems are you trying to solve or what opportunities are you trying to seize? The third question can be can be uh can it be realistically or practically accomplished? Is it a feasible goal? That's the third question. Can it be realistically accomplished? The answer to these three questions explain why you are initiating a plan in the first place. Simon Sinek, one of his most uh famous quotes, said he said on his book uh why people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Let me say that again because it's very important. Simon Sinek, in his most famous quote on the book uh why said, People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it. So that purpose, that underlying purpose is what people are tapping into that mission, that goal, that aspiration, and people look at it and they can identify with that mission, with that vision, with that passion, and that's why they buy what why you do it. So within your project plan or your plan of life plan, you must identify clearly what is your mission. You may say, Daniel, I want to initiate a plan because it will help me uh benefit my family. You may say that this plan will help you get out of debt and provide a sense of stability. Perhaps you want to start the business that has been in your heart for many years or begin an academic journey that will provide a better quality of life. If you feel a divine calling, you may want to pursue studying the theological classes that will help you and shape you to understand that subject matter. Because you want to assist people in their spiritual quest for salvation, deliverance, and healing. If that's your why, then people will tap into that specific passion that you have. In all these cases, there's always an audience. Even if it's an audience of just one person, there's an audience. Perhaps you are that audience. There's always a plan designed to solve a problem or seize an opportunity. In a corporate setting, companies attempt to solve problems or seize opportunities by maximizing profits, reducing job costs, decreasing software maintenance or expenses, or minimizing logistical costs such as freight. For businesses, this becomes their why. Their reason for initiating a project or a plan may be to obtain financial self-sufficiency, maximize shareholder equity, improve operating equipment of effectiveness or OEE, or establish a strategic global presence. They may seek to reduce the cost of poor quality while implementing a just-in-time process flow, streaming quality checks, or implementing automated controls. These objectives for an organization become their why. A company may have endless reasons for its purpose, but the important point is that they're clearly understand why they are initiating a project. They clearly understand their purpose, their mission, and their why. So let me provide a more familiar example for you because some of you may not be in a business setting. So think of the American Red Cross, which uses donor contributions in emergency situations. Their why is to assist those who are less fortunate. Consider the Habitat for Humanity, which uses donor contributions and volunteer work to build homes and assist with disaster relief efforts. Their why is to rebuild communities and restore people's quality of life. So today I ask you in this podcast, what is your why? Why do you want to initiate a plan? What is your mission statement? What are your driving motives and intentions? Can you answer the first two questions and how you how you will benefit yourself or how will you benefit that target audience? And what problems are you trying to solve or opportunities are you trying to seize? The third question can it be realistically accomplished? Is important because you're not trying to solve world hunger, achieve world peace, or create a magical pill that will cure all diseases at the beginning of your plan. Instead, focus on why you want to initiate a plan and who will benefit from it, what opportunity you're trying to pursue, and whether it is realistically achievable. Many people simply start off like uh like a rocket. They have many things, they they falsely uh confuse motion with effectiveness, they confuse simply activity with productivity, and they go on realizing uh you know, engaging in all these activities, all these things that are aimless, they have no trajectory, they have no outcome, they have no plan. So if you simply are going through the motions of activities without sitting down and planning a strategic plan, then simply you are wasting time, capital, energy, effort, and you will be frustrated along the way. The second step toward achieving your goal is planning which what what I call proof uh what I uh define as a plan definition. So the second step is you to really identify and clearly define what is it that you're going to do. So now that you have your why, now you're going to break it down to what action items do I need in order to get closer to the fulfillment of that goal. Alan Lanking once said, planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it. It is easier to understand something when it is clearly defined. That is why you have to define what you're going to plan. You have to have action items. You just can't simply uh wish it to be. These action items must have a sequence or a methodology. There's an order to doing something first, second, third, fourth. In order to accomplish one and two and three, there has to be a disciplined mindset, and you have to clearly define what is it that you're going to do. If you don't have the assistance of others to help you define your plan, take time to brainstorm, describe what you're trying to accomplish, determine how many resources you have allocated to the plan. Set a clear timeline. List the actions required to achieve the plan and determine whether you have the resources necessary to fulfill the requirements of what you are undertaking. At this stage, you are detailing the scope and determining the budget. You are defining the activities, outlining the timeline, and establishing clear expectations. You are working with another, if you are working with another person, you have to also uh get with the person to say, hey, what activities are allocated to me and what activities are allocated to you. This means that you have to develop a clear communication plan. I remember many years ago with uh when a former director of operations told me that my project had to be smart, and at the time I didn't realize what he was trying to tell me. This acronym means that my project or my plan has to be specific, that's the S. Measurable, that's the M. Attainable, that's the A. Realistic, that's the R, and timely, that's the T. It has to be smart, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. I will admit that at first it took me a while to fully grasp this concept. It required several failures before I learned how to align myself and work in a truly smart manner. So I ask of you today in this second step of defining your plan, are you working in a smart manner? Don't work aimlessly, don't lose time, energy, don't get frustrated along the way. Once you have your why, now develop that that plan, define those important steps in order to execute that amazing plan that's going to get you closer to your goal. The third step in project planning or planning is that you must execute. Your goal in this step is fully execution. Peter Drucker once said, Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work. You must put in the work. I see many people that approach me throughout the years about their dreams, they approach me about their objectives, they approach me about the things that they're going to do. They have their what, when, where, how, when with whom, they have their why, they have everything detailed in their communication plan, in their planning activities, in their work breakdown structure. But you know what they lack? They lack execution. And without execution, you will never get anywhere. It's simply daydreaming. You are uh, you know, denying yourself the opportunity to see that goal come to fruition. So it does not matter how elaborate or detailed your project charter or your plan is if you never execute your plan. It doesn't matter how many statistical graphs or Pareto charts you have created if nothing is ultimately implemented. It doesn't matter how many notes you have on your tablet, it doesn't matter how many notes you have on your phone or on your laptop. It doesn't matter how many posts you have placed in your social media outlets in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, X, you name it. A lot of people post about what they're going to do. But guess what? They never do it. They never execute. Perhaps it's fear, perhaps it's poor planning, perhaps it's simply procrastination, perhaps it's it's something that's hindering. There's bottlenecks in their lives. But if you don't execute, you will never have the opportunity to adjust, you'll never have the opportunity to prioritize these tasks. You will always live a stressful and mediocre life if you do not execute your plan. So you may define and you may measure the problem, but if there are no actions are taken to solve or seize an opportunity, you have wasted your time or worse, someone else's time. You may know of individuals who constantly talk about their dreams and aspirations, but never take action. Years pass and they are still daydreaming about their master plan without ever executing it. And I want to encourage you that even a small step forward is still progress. What I'm trying to tell you in this third step is execute. Doesn't have to be perfect. Stars don't have to align. Things don't have to be in the right place. Things are still malleable. I mean, you're making adjustments. So, in order to become effective in your doing, you must execute. So, get out of the couch, start stop talking about it, and start executing that amazing plan. The fourth step in achieving your goal is project performance and control or plan performance and control. Theodore Roosevelt said In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing. In simple terms, this step is about measuring your gain and tracking your progress. There must be signposts or key performance indicators that show whether you are moving toward your goal. As I have often said, you cannot improve what you do not measure. If you never measure something, how will you know whether you are improving? I see this throughout many platforms, whether in business, project management, whether it be in person people's personal life plan, etc. The quote, the one of the fundamental questions that I ask them and I approach them is like, how do you know you're making progress? How do you know? You know, if if you are, for example, if your goal, if your plan is to uh lose weight, right? And then your plan is I'm going to abstain myself from sodas and pizzas and snacks and this and that. Well, that's the plan. And you have executed that. Well, you know that you are uh progressing because you look at the weight scale and your weight reduction is is seen, right? You went from perhaps 200 pounds to 190 and you see the progress from 200 to 190, 180, or whatever that goal is for you. But if you don't measure it, if you don't have that scale, that weight scale, then how do you know? You just simply can't take a guess. So you have to know that you you there has to be milestones along the way, signal posts, there has to be uh a way to measure your gains and to track your progress. Let me give you a personal example of progression. Many years ago, I traveled from Atlanta to Shanghai, uh China. It was an exhausting flight of over 7,000 miles, lasting between 13 and 15 hours. Periodically, the pilot would announce through the PA system that we had reached 30,000 feet. We were traveling at 500 miles per hour and had 11 hours remaining before reaching our destination. Honestly, I did not want to uh, you know, I did not enjoy, I did not want to hear that we still had 11 hours left, but at least it provided a sense of progress. So my question to you is what signpost have you placed along your path? And are you meeting your predetermined schedule? If you said you were going to do it in three months, then how are you measuring that? Have you met that three-month goal? Has it been three months or has it been six months? And in your project plan or your plan, you've said I was going to have a target date of three months. What's making you fall behind? So those are the things that you have to fundamentally answer. How will you measure your progress? And there are many, there are millions of ways to do that, whether it be on a personal level, on the project level, on a business level, on how you're going to measure your progress, whether it be through a Gantt chart or uh what's called a plan due check act chart, whether it be to a project charter of sorts, but there has to be a way where you're measuring progress and you're holding yourself accountable to meet those specific target dates and moreover, meet those deadlines. Finally, the fifth step in the plan in closing, uh in determining where you have success, in determining whether you had reached that goal, the last step is planning an activity where you're actually have a closing meeting on your plan. And it may seem sound sound you know odd to a lot of people that if I achieve the goal, why is it that I have to have a closing meeting? Why is it that in this activity now I have to uh formally close this project, formally close this plan? So after completing a plan, let me just say that you must evaluate the pros and cons experienced during the process of achieving your plan. So as you were executing this plan, there were pros and cons. You have to learn to capitalize on the lessons learned and carry those insights into your next plan. So if you embark you are embarking on a plan that is similar to the one you've you just accomplished, you want to take the lessons, the pros and cons of that previous plan and apply them to this new plan, to this new objective. Most importantly, ensure that the mistakes, the cons, are not repeated. So you have to ask yourself: was the plan cycle adequate? Was my timeline correct? Were the people involved an asset to my plan or a hindrance? So it may be that you do not want to include those same people in your next trajectory or in your next journey. Was the return on investment worth the effort? Were there much better opportunities ahead? And so many other questions. You can have a long list, a long checklist of questions to ask yourself once you have fulfilled your plan. This will help you capture those lessons learned. If there are pros, you want to apply them to your next plan. If there were cons, you want to avoid those mistakes and do not repeat those failures. To summarize, if you follow these five steps, you can greatly increase your chances of achieving your goal. First, develop a plan and understand why you want to accomplish that plan, that goal. Second, clearly define the plan by breaking down the activities necessary to reach the next phase. Third, execute the plan because no amount of planning matters without action. Fourth, measure your progress with clear signposts and indicators. You have to have milestones. Finally, close the plan by evaluating the lessons learned so that your future plans can improve. If you consistently follow these five steps, you will have a strong advantage in accomplishing your goals and achieving the objectives you have set forth for your life. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. I want to end this podcast by encouraging you that even though you have executed, even though you have accomplished that goal, you have learned those valuable or invaluable lessons by being in the trenches, by being in that rough sea, by becoming a skilled sailor to make those needed adjustments. Your plan perhaps was malleable, was cascading, and you had to do several steps before another step. Things perhaps did not align. But the bottom line is that you stuck to your plan, you stuck to the timeline, you had the correct people and the correct resources aligned that help you achieve that life goal. So once you have achieved it, you're no longer daydreaming, you're no longer wishing, you're no longer regretting the fact that in past years you were not able to accomplish that specific plan. But this time around, you have because you have a strategic plan that's going to give you sound deliverables. And when you evaluate your quality of life, it's so much better than it was five, ten years ago. So develop a strategic plan with these five practical steps, and you will have a great and successful return on investment. This has been Daniel, and I will see you on the next episode.