I like to golf, and I live on a golf course. So, I own a golf cart. Often, I use the cart to drive to the course and walk while I golf. Before you get too caught up in my fancy lifestyle, I want you to know that a round of golf at this course is $17.
Early this spring, I suggested to my wife that we should consider getting rid of the golf cart. She said, “We have a 2-year-old granddaughter. People with 2-year-old grandchildren don’t get rid of their golf carts.” So, we still have a golf cart.
Over Mother’s Day weekend, my daughters, son-in-law, and granddaughter came to visit. At one point, the only people at home were my daughter, Anne, my son-in-law, Jon, my granddaughter, Amelia, and I. Jon and I thought it was an excellent time to go golfing. Amelia thought it was a good time for a ride.
We were at an impasse.
Until Anne said, “Take her with you, and I will pick her up at the end of hole number 1.” (We live at the end of hole number 1). Jon replies, “How is that going to work? And he asked a few other questions.” Anne replied, “You’re two smart people. You’ll figure it out.” Then she turned around and went into the house.
Jon grabbed Amelia, sat on the cart, and we figured it out. When we finished the round, we called home and said we were going to golf hole number one a second time. The people in the house figured out how to have Amelia meet us for the ride home. At one point, Jon put her in the driver’s seat, told her to steer, and pressed the pedal so she could drive.
I’m all for planning. I love a good plan. But things seldom go as planned. It is why you need a good plan. It’s hard to adapt if you don’t know what you are doing to start with.
Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they are punched in the mouth.”
In the business world, people talk about the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) model all the time. At Willmar Electric, we call it the Proven Process and discuss Planning, Implementing, Eliminating, and Adjusting.
Once we come to accept this cycle, things start to go better. Especially mentally.
Jon and I planned to take the golf cart for a round of golf.
We implement our plan by heading to the course.
We eliminated the idea that our priority on hole number one would be primarily about golf.
We adjusted our plan to focus on fun and took Amelia with us.
Everything worked out wonderfully. Anne was right. We were smart enough to figure it out.
(Amelia didn’t have a driving plan. She just did it. Jon got to help her adjust a lot.)