Seeking Success: What’s Your Plan?

A recent Globe and Mail article identified that nearly 22,000 applications for connection of solar power projects to the province’s electrical grid remain untouched.  Delays in the approval and connection process have threatened the budding industry, which is now at a standstill as demand is halted awaiting action by crown corporations.

Ontario’s Energy Minister cited the popularity of the “feed in tariff” program (subsidies provided to encourage investment in green power initiatives) as creating significant challenges for the province’s transmission network, requiring upgrades to transformer stations and power lines to meet the influx of demand. Simply put, the government did not predict that the significant incentives it offered for development and generation of green energy would create the level of demand that it has.

Two words: “poor planning.”

It is clear that the government had a goal for Ontario to become a “green energy” manufacturing hub. What is not clear is whether there was an achievable plan developed in consultation with the supporting work groups to ensure the goal was achieved. Were resources sufficient to support the goal?  Were mitigating actions in place in the event of program success, if so, why are they not in play? The answer is simple: poor planning.

Moving from a concept to reality requires the diligence to sequentially follow these five steps:

1. A clear and obtainable goal.
2. A sufficient plan to support the goal.
3. Adequate resources to meet the plan.
4. Contingent and mitigating action plans.
5. Effective execution of the plan.

If you are blindly pursuing goals without following these steps in succession, the resulting lost revenue, ballooning costs and missed deadlines will be a harsh reality. It certainly makes the investment in a reliable plan seem pretty minimal, doesn’t it?

© Shawn Casemore 2011.  All rights reserved.