Scenario Planning: Planning for Success

Dreams often start small and grow slowly. That is the normal pattern of growth. But after a while, it is easy to think that your dream will remain small for ever. The planning for success strategy is the right strategy to prepare the way for a dream that you have been carefully tending to grow to the next level. 

The planning for success strategy uses the principles of scenario planning to imagine alternative expressions of how your dream might turn out. Here is how it works. 

First, imagine at least three different ways your dream could grow to exceed your expectations. Stretch yourself to have at least one of the scenarios represent incredible success to you. Don't worry in this step about how the success will occur. Focus instead on what success in different forms would look like. Write the scenarios down and give them names. 

It is important to imagine more than one scenario for success. Having only one scenario will be limiting to the growth of your dream. 

Second, look at your dream as it is now through the future pictures of success that you have imagined. What new things would you have to put in place so your dream as it is now could accommodate the success you imagined? And what things are you doing now that you would have to stop doing or do a different way? Write these down for each of the scenarios. 

Recognize that the things that you are writing down in this step will make no sense if you look at the future picture of success through the current reality of your dream. They will only make sense if you look back from the future at the present. 

Third, pick several things that you have written down that you could change with little to no additional investment of your time or resources. Do not worry if what you are proposing to do seems out-of-scale to your dream as it is now. Just make sure that you are not over-investing your time or resources. Create a plan to put those things into action (write it down) and act on it over the next few weeks. If you have been carefully tending your dream this far, it will be exciting to add these additional steps to what you have been doing. Watch for the sense of possibility that starts to rise up within you.  

Scenario planning is a powerful strategy to imagine and shape the future when we are willing to invest ourselves deeply in the process - something that I need to do in a few areas of my life. I will let you know how it goes. 

Note: This week's blog was inspired by stories written by George MacDonald, a Scottish author who lived from 1824 to 1905. George MacDonald was considered a mentor to C.S. Lewis, the author of the Narnia series. Many of George MacDonald's best loved characters dreamed of and planned for their dreams long before they had the resources to accomplish it. Once the opportunity was realized they were able to make a rapid and lasting impact.