For years I have used a process I call ‘Hindsight planning’ with clients to conceive then execute a strategy that delivers sustainable prosperity.
Put simply, rather than planning forward, as it usually occurs, from an analysis of the current situation towards a goal, I seek to have them articulate the goal in great depth, and from a range of perspectives so that they ‘internalise’ the goal as if it has been achieved. They have absorbed an emotional attachment to the goal as if it was the current reality, rather than a goal.
I always thought it was a bit of a semantic trick, but it turns out I was wrong.
Hindsight planning is rooted in psychology.
Daniel Kahneman in his book ‘Thinking, Fast & Slow’ said it best: ‘Once you adopt a new view of the world, or a part of it, you immediately lose much of your ability to recall what you used to believe before your mind changed’
In other words, hindsight planning is more than a semantic trick, it is a process of replacing the current reality with a new one, that just happens to be the goal you set out to achieve. Once you believe the new reality, it is easier to look backwards and articulate the things you did right, and those you did poorly, the resources you needed, the timing, capabilities, and all the other things that require assembly for the achievement of a stretch goal.
When you need help with this challenging idea, call me, and challenge me to do for you what I have done for others.
Header Photo: the last known photo of the Titanic as it left Queenstown Ireland, on April 12th 1912. A little but of hindsight would have gone a long way!!
