There’s an old Yiddish saying: “Man plans, and God laughs.” And if you’ve been in business or just lived life, for more than five minutes, you know how true that is. You set goals, you make plans and then life throws you a curveball.
Another quote that’s stuck with me is, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” And that’s real. You can build out the most beautiful plan, have it all mapped out to the minute. The moment you start moving, something unexpected comes in and knocks the wheels off.
So, does that mean planning is a waste of time?
Absolutely not.
Plans may not hold up perfectly, but the act of planning, of thinking through what you’re trying to do and how you’re going to do it, is where the real value lives. And I’ve seen that play out in both my personal life and in the businesses we work with every single day.
Why Goal Setting Isn’t Enough
A while back, there was a randomized controlled study done with people who were overweight or obese. And more importantly, people who wanted to lose weight. This wasn’t just some random sample; everyone involved had a clear desire to shed pounds.
They split the participants into three groups:
- Group one was asked to simply set a goal. Just write down what they wanted—how much weight they wanted to lose.
- Group two was told to set goals, and then watch motivational videos on top of that.
- Group three did all of that—goal setting, motivational content—but they were also required to write down a plan of intention. In other words, they had to get specific. They had to say things like, “I’m going to walk for 30 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,” or “I’ll go to the gym and do cardio three times a week.”
Now, here’s the punchline: Groups one and two saw minimal results. There was barely any difference in weight loss between them.
But group three?
They lost three to four times more weight than the other two groups. Just by writing down a specific, actionable plan.
Think about that. They didn’t get extra help, they didn’t have personal trainers. They just got intentional. They had a real plan. And that’s what made all the difference.
A Personal Proof Point
When we moved into the house we’re in now, I came across an old binder from a Tony Robbins seminar I’d attended years ago. Tony’s big on goal setting, writing it all down and making your intentions clear. I flipped through that binder and found something I didn’t even remember writing: a list of what I wanted in a house.
And I swear to you, line by line, it matched the house we were about to move into.
Now, I’m not saying writing it down magically made it appear. But what I am saying is that getting clear and writing it down likely influenced the decisions I made along the way that led us to that exact house.
It was eerie. But, also a powerful reminder of how important it is to put your goals on paper.
What Every Business Goal Needs
If you’ve done any of my goal setting sessions, you’ve heard me talk about this: there are five things you absolutely must have in place if you want to achieve any goal. Personal, professional, financial, health-related or otherwise.
And I don’t just teach this—I live by it. Anytime I set a goal and come up short, I go back to this list. And every single time, I find that one (or more) of these five elements was missing.
1. Absolute clarity on the outcome
If you’ve done any of my goal setting sessions, you’ve heard me talk about this: there are five things you absolutely must have in place if you want to achieve any goal. Personal, professional, financial, health-related or otherwise.
And I don’t just teach this—I live by it. Anytime I set a goal and come up short, I go back to this list. And every single time, I find that one (or more) of these five elements was missing.
2. A big, motivating reason why
You’ve got to really want the outcome—or you won’t do what it takes to get there. It can’t be because you feel pressure from other MSPs in the community. It can’t be because you saw someone like Doug crushing it and thought, “I should be doing more.”
That kind of “should” motivation doesn’t last. It’ll get you fired up for a week, and then you’ll find a dozen excuses for why you’re not following through.
But when your reason is personal and when the outcome truly matters to you, it’s a whole different story. You’ll make the sacrifices. You’ll stay committed when it gets tough. You won’t let the plan die just because it hits a bump.
3. A written plan of achievement
This one can’t be skipped. And I mean a real plan—not a list of random to-dos. A structured, intentional plan that maps out exactly how you’ll get from where you are to where you want to be.
Think through your service offerings, sales strategy, lead generation, and follow-up campaigns. This is where MSPs often need the most help—building a plan that makes their growth goals real and achievable.
4. A system of measurement
You can’t manage what you don’t measure. It’s not enough to just “feel” like things are going better. You need metrics that tell the truth. Revenue, margin, net new clients, MRR growth, service ticket volume, CSAT scores—track what matters.
Measurement shows progress. And when progress is visible, motivation gets stronger. You start stacking wins. That builds momentum—and momentum is how goals get crushed.
5. A system of accountability
This one’s big. Who are you accountable to?
Because if the answer is “just me,” I’ll tell you right now—that’s not enough. Left to our own devices, we all let ourselves off the hook. We rationalize. We delay. We move the goalposts.
But when someone else is holding your feet to the fire, the game changes.
Whether it’s a coach, a peer group, a mentor, or even your team—you need someone watching, someone you don’t want to disappoint. That pressure can be the difference between doing the hard thing and backing off when it gets uncomfortable.
Final thoughts
Plans might not survive contact with reality, but the discipline of planning is what separates the people who win from the ones who stay stuck. Goals are great—but they’re just dreams until you write them down, map them out, and commit to the grind of bringing them to life.
And if you’re serious about growing your MSP, stop winging it. Get intentional. Write the goal. Build the plan. Set the metrics. And get accountable.
Then ask yourself:
Do you really want this? Or are you just saying you do?
Because if the desire is real and the plan is clear, nothing can stop you.
