The Next Play

Today I’ve got a football analogy for effectively executing your marketing strategy.

Right before a quarterback takes a snap they are thinking about just one play.

They aren’t thinking about the play after this one or the next 3 plays.

Just one at a time.

It would be useless to worry about the next play when the outcome of the current one hasn’t been determined. It would be crippling.

The goal is always the same: score touchdowns. And each play changes the trajectory of your ability to do so. Planning several plays ahead is useless.

Yet, in marketing (and in much of life) we often think 10, 20, or 30 steps ahead before we’ve taken the first step.

Now I can hear the chronic planner in my ear telling me this isn’t true and a plan is important to have.

I agree.

Just because you aren’t thinking about the next step until you’ve accomplished the first doesn’t mean you aren’t entering the game prepared and practiced for encountering unique scenarios.

A good plan is one that is prepared well and is flexible/changes with each new piece of information or circumstance.

If a plan is too rigid and you try to follow the original plan to a T you often won’t get the outcome you are looking for.

You will only succeed at following the plan, not getting the results the plan was created for.

The plan is there to serve you. You don’t serve the plan. And this is why plans can and should change.