The Art of Big-Picture Planning: Why Zooming Out Matters
Zooming out to see the big picture during planning is a great idea. What is the big view of what we are trying to accomplish?
Football coaches also like the zooming-out perspective as they evaluate and plan using film from a game.
I played middle and high school football but never aspired to become a football coach. That all changed when the principal who hired me to teach said they needed a football coach. Because I had experience as a player, I accepted the opportunity to be an assistant coach.
It was exciting to join a football coaching staff with lots of winning experience. It would allow me to help kids and learn more from experienced leaders.
The head coach, the late Ron Dickerson, was exceptional as a football coach. He had seven conference titles and two state titles. He was a leader and got results.
When we met, he knew I had played football and I would be teaching photography as a teacher. He quickly evaluated my skills with the needs of the team. I became the assistant middle school football coach and was responsible for filming high school football games.
Filming my first game, I included close-up shots as any creative photographer might do. The other coaches quickly provided feedback, “Don’t be creative with our videos.” They wanted me to zoom out so they could see the entire field and each player.
Zoom Out During Planning
When planning, there is value in zooming out.
Evaluating the broad view of a football game allows the coaches and players to examine each player on the field and team performance. The film became a way to find problems and improvement opportunities for a better result.
Planning allows one to self-evaluate previous performance and activities, visualize the future, and focus on where to go. The focus should be wide so we don’t miss opportunities.
Planners get results when they see the big picture. A person’s vision can be complicated and involve many moving parts. Identifying those moving parts is critical. It may take some time, but constantly looking for essential planning components will lead to success and goal achievement. Planning components might include roles and weekly priorities.
Focusing on Roles
When we reviewed the video of the football game, we were able to see each player. They all had specific roles. The running back had different responsibilities than the quarterback. We were able to see the actions of each of the players clearly on the screen.
Like the different positions of a football team, when we plan, we need to identify specific, actionable items for each personal role: business leader, teacher, mentor, father, spouse, brother, and more. Identify your roles and put what you want to accomplish for each. If it is essential, put it in the plan.
Prioritize
Prioritized planning is more than creating a to-do list or looking at a schedule on a calendar. Prioritizing the planning process will help you do the right things to get the results you’re looking for. First, you need a clear perspective on what drives you: core values, personal goals, and your vision. Awareness of self-identity will help you prioritize.
What were the priorities of the coaching staff reviewing a football video? Mission and vision drove our team. We wanted to develop young athletes and win football games. Part of the development of athletes included preparing them for the future beyond football. They observed our team planning, which most likely helped many of them beyond high school.
When I plan, I take into consideration my personal mission statement. It helps me prioritize what is important. Using my mission statement as a guide makes my plan more significant than my to-do list activities. I prioritize my planning.
Weekly Planning
Our team had many meetings, but we always started the week with a special team planning meeting. We had to prepare for the next football game.
For my planning, I also like to take time at the beginning of the week to write down my plan. What do I want to accomplish this week? I schedule the planning time to make sure planning happens.
The weekly planning includes looking at last week’s plan. I’m able to see my progress on personal and business projects. The quiet time allows me to self-evaluate. It’s fun to check off the accomplishments, but I learn much from the actionable items I did not accomplish in my plan. I make adjustments to the new plan to get things done.
Just as I observed the benefits of a football team planning weekly, individual weekly planning is an excellent way to prepare and get desired results.
“Big Perspective” Planners Get Desired Results
I am a fan of creativity, but along with creativity, I believe it’s important to zoom out to get the big perspective while planning. Zooming out allows us to become effective at identifying opportunities and problems. Prioritizing through weekly individual planning will improve a person’s ability to achieve desired results.
Martial Arts Perspective
You take on a new role when you decide to train in martial arts. Just like your other personal roles, you have the opportunity to visualize where you want to end up. How will you get there? Planning will help.
When you plan as a martial artist, you should visualize the big picture of your training and individual skills. Your skill level will improve faster because you focus on prioritizing training. For example, plan extra training time and what you will do to improve skills: forms, kicking, striking, or stretching.
Writing down your training goals weekly will make you a better martial artist. Those who plan tend to get the desired results.
Reflection and Discussion
How can you improve your planning skills?
While planning for the week, how would you prioritize your goals?
Create a plan for your week. Write your specific roles and at least one actionable step for each one in the plan. Come back to the plan at the end of the week and evaluate your performance.
The image in this post is an image from Midjourney. We have a Midjourney license agreement to use images and design tools from the Midjourney site.
