Where to start?

Goals give you direction. But the goals alone won't be enough for you create an accurate roadmap. You need to know the starting point too. You need to take inventory of what you have and what else you need to get.

This is often overlooked. People get excited about the goals and start working on deliverables right away, without first mapping out the present big picture.

I experienced just recently at work. A client was asking for recommendations. For a strategy. But I didn't have the resources to understand the whole business. I didn't even have information on their offerings. And so, that became my first step: to gather all the information I can and put them together in a clear, understandable, logical manner. And from there, work on an action plan.

Without first understanding the current situation, you could be walking a different road, looking at the wrong place on the map. You could be working on things that aren't actually feasible. And wasting resources.

Look at where you are. Evaluate. What's working for you and what isn't? What did so well in the past that you can do again? What needs improvement? Where is the leak? What are the problems you're trying to solve? What's the cause?

Diagnosis comes first. Then, the treatment plan.