Create a Plan

It was the last season I was going to play. I had already quit and was ready to go full steam into music but was convinced to play one more year by a persistent coach.

The season was going great, we were winning every game with high scoring for and low against. We were set to win it all. Then we played St. Mike’s. They destroyed us. It was like we didn’t even know what hockey was. Embarrassing.

Other teams were still no problem to beat.

The second game with St. Mike’s we practiced hard, even watched game tapes. And yet, we still got our asses kicked.

The third game – more was on the line as it was minor hockey week and we were one of the teams that could have taken the title – but again! Defeat.

It was really embarrassing because in each game the opposing players would taunt us, get us to react and take penalties, they threw us off our game every time. We were now intimidated and looking weak.

Soon after minor hockey week we were to go against our rival enemies again. This time our coach called us to the rink early so he could go over our “new game plan”.

Now this may be some of the stuff parents don’t want to hear but the new plan was this.

Forget the puck – hit they player. Hit hard. We even had a designated player on each line whose purpose was to hit. We needed to throw them off their game plan, make them hesitate, rethink what they were going to do with the puck. If we were going to get penalties, make the other player feel it.

The game was one of the hardest hitting games I have seen – by the third period the other team was reluctant to make plays, We had achieved our goal and we went on to beat them. This was a pivotal point in the season as we also gained confidence that we could be unstoppable if we just followed our plan.

We ended up winning the league championships and if we did not have a specific plan to beat St. Mike’s, I truly believe we would not have taken the title.

Alright – carrying on from the last posting – If you haven’t read it go back and read it now!

Now that you have your goals and deadlines set it’s time to put it all together and formulate a plan of attack.

Running a band is like running a business – wait …it is a business! Write a list of different aspects to running your band – think of it as a list of departments.

Example:

Songwriting
Performance
Touring
Image
Booking and Promoting Shows
Administration & Accounting
Lead Generation – Building Contacts / Networking
Merchandising
Team Building

The list can and will be endless and will be different based on your bands needs. What will be similar is that there are certain tasks to be done for each to make each area a successful part of your business. The downfall of many bands is that they may be strong in one area and lack in another and that is enough to keep the band from moving up the ladder.

When everything is broken down into categories it will make tasks easier to handle, easier to know when to work in an area and when not to work in an area, etc. Often acts work in an area before they are ready to do so and they come across as amateur.

When you create the plan you stick to it – do not skip and jump ahead, patience is everything.

If you follow this approach your band will be better off and you will see results!

Once you have your categories broken down (I’ve listed off the common tasks) you need to create goals and a timeline for each. Then you line up all of the timelines so you know when to work on tasks before moving on through the timeline. So Important! Do not skip tasks it will kill you.

A band starting out will usually have only themselves to rely on – friends may be keen to help but beware, if they are not in the music business they will most likely hampen your career even though they are looking to help you. Most of the time they will always say you are great when you are not – not honest criticism, you will feel like you have to be soft on them because they are your friend and you do not want to hurt their feelings. Too many times I have seen it all end badly. Doing it yourself is 99% better than your friends helping you – UNLESS – they are absolutely willing to do what you tell them to without adding their opinion. (again this is IF they are not in the music business).

Assign timelines to category of your plan – it will be easier to keep track and to stay accountable.

As you work through your timeline you are doing a number of things:

creating a work ethic
staying on track and not getting ahead of your self
if anyone comes to you with an offer – make sure it fits the plan and add it otherwise say NO! (ever accept a gig that did nothing for your band and was a waste of time?)
creating a blueprint to use again and edit once you reach the end of your timeline.

Hockey is seasonal. Every year each team creates a plan, executes then once the season is over they evaluate and adjust. For the most part the next season is the same timeline – things get easier when you are doing the same thing but just getting better and more efficient.

Your band will become a well oiled machine and success will be within site. Just go for it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWHUVKCT54s

Setting Goals

It’s not Like it Used to be.