Action plans go hand in hand with decision making. They involve the concrete activities and things that must happen to bring decisions to life, and often knowing how to implement the decision is as important as the decision itself.

First Things First

Way before developing an action plan, you have to:

1. Understand the problem/issue you're faced with and trying to resolve
2. Develop goals and solutions to the problem
3. Evaluate these possible goals and solutions, and
4. Decide upon goals and solutions -- or, make a decision.

This four step process really describes the decision making process as a whole. The fifth step involves implementing your decision, or bringing it into life.

5. Think through and identify the actual steps you're going to take to achieve selected goals and solutions.

When is an Action Plan Required?

Most decisions don't warrant action plans. For instance, you don't have to develop a series of action steps to figure out how to get to the movie you've decided to see. But from here, things get a little more complex. You don't need an action plan to purchase that new car you've decided to buy, but a plan might help you decide which car to buy, where to buy it, and how to get the best price. Similarly, an action plan can help you to figure out how to go about looking for that new job, develop the skills you'll need to get it, and how to present yourself. An action plan may well help you pick the best childcare service for your toddler, or get support for a new community center.

In other words, although most day-to-day decisions don't need action plans, the more complex or important the decision, the more an action plan becomes a useful tool. At the other end of the decision making spectrum, there are some decisions that absolutely require a carefully developed action plan: developing a business, planning a political campaign, or making a significant life change, for example.

But for most of us, it's the middle ground where action plans are useful. How to stop smoking, how to pick a new school for our child, how to plan for retirement, how to improve relationships (or how to pursue a divorce), and how to get that new house built.

Separate Action From the Decision

Remember, the action plan follows the decision; it's the process that brings the decision into reality, but it's not the decision making itself. For instance, you may have decided to sell your home, move to Salt Lake City, and buy a new home. Your action plan will determine the steps you take to sell your home, locate another, and move, but the decision to move came first. The plan follows the decision.

Action Steps

A clear plan provides a way to think through, map out a solution, and identify the things that have to happen to make the dream a reality. An action plan is built on least three things:

1. Understanding the problem/issue. This is more than simply knowing you have a decision you want to implement, a problem you want to solve, or a need you want to meet. It means having a sense of the causes of the problem or the nature of the issue.
2. A goal. What do you actually want to accomplish? How will you know you've fixed the problem or met the need?
3. Action steps. What will you actually do to address the situation? With a goal of managing a household budget, for instance, steps might include listing household expenses, separating essential from non-essential expenses, evaluating current sources of income, considering sources of loans, and discussing possible solutions with other family members. A second set of steps in this same scenario will involve how you implement your new budget, and on-going discussion with other family members who may be affected by the changes. The basic idea is that there are clear things you have to do to get your plan off the drawing board and into reality.

As you think about putting the steps into action, it's important to also consider what sort of help you can draw on, what resources are realistically available, what obstacles must be overcome, and what alternatives you can fall back on, if necessary.

Although a detailed action plan is beyond the scope of this brief article, there are any number of resources available for a more thorough development of these action ideas and steps. There are many excellent books and materials on the market and in your local library. There's also professional help available to help with almost any area of your life, including financial counseling, career development, relationships, and mental health. And don't forget the internet which has become a tremendous resource for ideas and reference materials.

References:

Bryson, J. M. (1988). "Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations." San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Dawson, R. (1995 ). "The Confident Decision Maker."New York: William Morrow.

Fogg, C. D. (1998). "Implementing Your Strategic Plan. How to Turn 'Intent' into Effective Action for Sustainable Change." Saranac lake, NY: AMACOM

Freeman, A., & DeWolf, R. (1993). "The Ten Dumbest Mistakes Smart People Make and How to Avoid Them." New York: Harper Perennial Library.

Goodstein, L., Nolan, T. & Pfeiffer, J. W. (1993). "Applied Strategic Planning: A Comprehensive Guide." New York: McGraw-Hill

Russo, J. E., & Shoemaker, P. J.H. (1990). "Decision Traps: Ten Barriers to Brilliant Decision Making and How to Overcome Them." New York: Fireside (Simon & Schuster).

12/21/99

Phil Rich, EdD, MSW, DCSW is the author of "Understanding, Assessing, and Rehabilitating Juvenile Sexual Offenders," the eight books in "The Healing Journey" series of self help journaling books, and two books in the "Therapy Homework Planner," series, all of which are published by John Wiley & Sons. He is the Clinical Director of the Stetson School, a long-term residential treatment program for sexually reactive children and juvenile sexual offenders.