Are your plans turning into brick walls?

It’s possible to get so attached to the plan, that you can’t do anything else. 

Deb told me about a town that decided to rehab some old cabins in their park. They formed a committee that reported to the Parks and Recs committee that reported to the City Council, who made the final approvals. So of course they wrote a plan. 

The head of the committee was determined to stick to the plan. They would raise all of the money before any action was taken. They would only go after donations of $25,000 and larger. That eliminated a lot of locals who wanted to give. It took three years before they could lift a hammer and start on the actual project. 

“We can’t build a house by building one window at a time.” That’s one of the excuses for waiting until you can do the whole plan exactly like it says.

But you’re not building a house. You’re building a community.

It’s more like a coral reef, with lots of tiny contributions by individuals to build a pleasing whole, but no master plan and no one in charge.   

If you do need to write a formal plan, you can try some of these 5 new ways to plan. 

Keep shaping the future of your town, 
Becky

PS –   End of year planning is upon us. Here’s what you need to know before you write your next plan.