December is our time for Ho‘olālā for the pure seasonal rightness of it. With the New Year arriving in mere weeks, those inevitable resolutions take shape so much more naturally when the ‘business retreat process’ has happened first. When the Ho‘olālā process is good, those New Year’s resolutions become the right resolutions, and the plans to execute them are smart plans. I am one of the most deliberative planners you’ll meet, for I believe in the process of planning for the success you strive for, and then plotting the step by step “action traction” which will propel you ever forward. Plans without specific, bold actions are worthless. When Ho‘olālā is held as a planning retreat, everyone walks away from it ready to take on the world; they know exactly what they will do next. They’ve created new energy and achieved synergy in the process, and they strongly believe that when their individual action steps combine they will be a force to be reckoned with. They are a positive force capable of creating a better future both for the company and for themselves. They’re feeling brave and confident. So what is this Ho‘olālā , this Business Planning process? Much of it involves managerial concepts you’ve read from me before, in separate articles here for Lifehack.org. Business Planning should be when you actually use things like Vision, Values, and Mission – they aren’t things which someone made pretty sentences for in framed art on the walls. In Ho‘olālā they line up and are used like this: You can find more detail on each of these steps on www.managingwithaloha.com today, in Ho‘olālā: The Business Planning Process. We work hard during Ho‘olālā; they are not the retreats held during other times of the year where it is mostly team-building, camaraderie and fun. Those things are important too, but they have another time and place. The right people are chosen for Ho‘olālā; they are already a well-functioning team, one which is deeply committed to each other and unconditionally supportive of each other. During Ho‘olālā they celebrate their brilliance, and their passion for the focused work it takes to create lasting legacies. Related Posts:
Ho‘olālā: The Business Planning Process Blending Vision and Mission with the Season What’s the difference between Mission and Vision? ROV Coaching: Gain Return on your Values
Rosa Say is the author of Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawaii’s Universal Values to the Art of Business and the Talking Story blog. She is the founder of Say Leadership Coaching, a company dedicated to bringing nobility to the working arts of management and leadership.
