How do we manage our wealth-building plan in the face of day-to-day reality? The answer is to monitor progress and adjust if results don’t match expectations. These success benchmarks will likely be connected to the five (5) critical skills applicable to the wealth-building strategy. If these aren’t adequately executed, an adjustment must be made. A root cause analysis of the problem will lead you back to the strategic flaw. For example, the benchmark shows that sales growth for a manufacturing start-up is 50% less than the projection after six months. The root cause analysis may then lead back to weak networking skills. In this instance, the benchmark may not need to be changed, but rather the skill set improved.
The root cause analysis may also indicate that a factor outside of the skill set drove the failure. For example, the root cause analysis may indicate sales growth is lower than expected due to new regulations limiting market demand. In this case, the benchmark or timeline may need to be adjusted.
To the extent possible, decide in advance how you will react to potential obstacles. This does not have to be a point/counterpoint plan for unlimited potential problems, but rather a contingency plan for high-risk variables. This will simplify future decision-making. For example, if the entrepreneur was monitoring the potential enactment of the regulation, the backup plan might be to delay the ramp-up of additional manufacturing lines or focus sales on geographic markets not affected by the regulation.
