• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Coaching for Leaders

Leaders Aren't Born, They're Made

Login
  • Plus Membership
  • Academy
  • About
  • Contact
  • Dashboard
  • Login
Episode

319: The Way to Stop Spinning Your Wheels on Planning

Coaching for Leaders
https://media.blubrry.com/coaching_for_leaders/content.blubrry.com/coaching_for_leaders/CFL319.mp3

Podcast: Download

Follow:
Apple PodcastsYouTube PodcastsSpotifyOvercastPocketcasts

Dave Stachowiak: Coaching for Leaders

I am often asked how I produce this show, facilitate the Coaching for Leaders Academy, and still manage to keep work-life balance in check. Like most people, it is a daily struggle and that I error on often. However, I have found a few systems that work well for me.

In this episode, I share why I've found quarterly planning to work well for me. In addition, I walk though my planning process in detail, so you can replicate the areas that align best with the context of your work.

Key Points

  • Leaders need to both lead and plan.
  • Planning takes discipline.
  • Plan out quarterly in addition to, or even instead of, planning annually.
  • Take the most important areas of your life and try to find an objective for each one that you can focus on during the quarter.
  • Lagging indicators are the results, and leading indicators are the action steps you take to get the results.
  • Your life will mostly fill up with day-to-day tasks, but the key is what you do with the remaining time.
  • We tend to think we can do it all.
  • Have a “next quarter list” easily accessible so you can get things out of your head and clear up mental space.
  • Having a quarterly plan will help you make better decisions because you’ve already done the critical thinking about what’s important to you.

Resources Mentioned

  • The 12-Week Year* by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington
  • The Four Disciplines of Execution* by Chris McChesney and Sean Covey

Related Episodes

  • Do This for a Productive Week (episode 180)
  • How to Actually Move Numbers, with Chris McChesney (episode 294)
  • How to Turn Goals Into Results (MemberCast 1)

Discover More

Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Topic Areas:Personal LeadershipProductivityStrategy
cover-art

Coaching for Leaders Podcast

This Monday show helps you discover leadership wisdom through insightful conversations. Independently produced weekly since 2011, Dave Stachowiak brings perspective from a thriving, global leadership academy of managers, executives, and business owners, plus more than 15 years of leadership at Dale Carnegie.

Listen Now OnApple Podcasts
  • More Options
    • YouTube Podcasts
    • Spotify
    • Overcast

Activate Your Free Membership Today

Access our entire library of Coaching for Leaders episodes from 2011, searchable by topic.
Listen to the exclusive Coaching for Leaders MemberCast with bonus content available only to members.
Start Dave’s free audio course, 10 Ways to Empower the People You Lead.
Download our weekly leadership guide, including podcast notes and advice from our expert guests.

... and much more inside the membership!

Activate Your Free Membership
IMAGE
Copyright © 2025 · Innovate Learning, LLC
  • Plus Membership
  • Academy
  • About
  • Contact
  • Dashboard
×

Log in

 
 
Forgot Password

Not yet a member?

Activate your free membership today.

Register For Free
×

Register for Free Membership

Access our entire library of Coaching for Leaders episodes from 2011, searchable by topic.
Listen to the exclusive Coaching for Leaders MemberCast with bonus content available only to members.
Start Dave’s free audio course, 10 Ways to Empower the People You Lead.
Download our weekly leadership guide, including podcast notes and advice from our expert guests.

... and much more inside the membership!

Price:
Free
First Name Required
Last Name Required
Invalid Username
Invalid Email
Invalid Password
Password Confirmation Doesn't Match
Password Strength  Password must be "Medium" or stronger
 
Loading... Please fix the errors above