Dealing With Debt – Part 3
How do I implement my debt plan?
The struggle of getting started is the hardest part of any plan.There are books and studies out there that call this resistance, and you will have to overcome the resistance.
Ask yourself, where is the best example of learning how to implement your plan?
One of the best examples we have is right in front of us, but goes unnoticed when we’re looking to conduct personal business. It’s the places we work. Our place of employment is great at implementing new plans and processes, whether we like them or not. They get it done. So let’s take a note from the company’s book to implement our debt plan.
I’d like to share the four steps I’ve found for implementing a new process.
1.Get everyone onboard.
Since we’re addressing family business, we need to get the family [those directly impacted] of what we’re facing on board. It’s important to outline the problem [current state] and the solution [desired future state].
Discuss with your family, the decision to either be debt-free or debt-restricted. When everyone is on the same page, we can all move in the same direction so that a goal can be accomplished.
2. Define what the plan looks like in practice.
The family must be able to see what implementing this plan means today and what it does to our future. Let’s describe what living today will look like as we implement. Next, describe as vividly as possible what tomorrow can look like using this implementation strategy.
3. Set some parameters.
A wise way to implement a new strategy is to use reinforcements. You will need to be creative in coming up with negative consequences when the family is off track as well as positive reinforcements (rewards) when the family is on track. Your family is a team who’s not only practicing, but starring in the game of your life, your business. Anything you can do to keep behavior on track is a win.
4. Take action and review results regularly.
Don’t just state a new process and pretend that the process will happen all by itself. Don’t let the goal become out of sight. It’s still true that anything out of sight is out of mind. In taking action, remember the actions don’t have to be huge steps to be effective. Recall the saying, how does one eat an elephant? One bite (small step) at a time. You have to make regular recurring bites at the plan in order to see the plan implemented.
Today is Friday!
This is how you get the job done. I’ve been an implementer of hundreds of plans over my career and these steps are found in most organizations. Why not use them in your home? I bet at your place of employment, you’re involved with implementing new processes right now. Pay attention to how your company does it and model that behavior in your home to implement your own plans, specifically a debt plan.
[…] allow others to tempt you to do otherwise. It’s your life and it’s your business. Implement Your Choice I’ve found that once you make a decision, the journey begins. You no longer have the […]