Aligning Resources With Your Plan

Resources include money, time, positions, equipment, and the like.

As we identify ideas for making improvements and progress in new arenas, we still have the old arenas requiring resources, time and energy to maintain. Yet, we all know that we can’t rely on getting new resources to do new things.

Very often, a plan gives focus that enables people to do what they have always done, but with a new angle, focus, framework or definition—a new way rather than added work. Identify the extent to which this can be done.

Plans often add momentum to things that are already underway. That’s good. Sometimes these things need an infusion of resources to succeed or to advance at a more aggressive pace. Identify those areas.

Some things in your plan are likely to require additional resources. Given that, here are some questions you can ask for aligning your resources to advance your plan.

• Where might you reorder or change priorities of current efforts and assignments?
  
  
• What can you stop doing or reduce time and resources that are required for the activity?
  
  
• How can you shift resources from one activity to another?
  
  
• Which of your goals, priorities, activities might be able to attract new resources?
  
  
• Where are completely new resources critical? Identify potential sources and develop requests.

With these questions addressed, develop your budget to address your priorities.

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