The word plan continues to be a four-letter word. Why? Because people buy established businesses without a written action plan and then complain when the business goes south.

For example, today a potential client told me that he had a string of bad luck. After he and his partner purchased an established business, two key employees left and so did a significant part of the revenue. Also, with the retirement of the owner, existing loyal customers left because their loyalty was to the past owner and not to the current ones. This was all contributed to bad luck!

After listening to the individual complain, I asked him: "Would your outcomes be different if you had taken the time to ask yourself this question: What happens if a key employee left?"

The response was "Sure, but I did not think about any employee leaving. The business was over 30 years old and very well established. All the records were in tact and everything looked good on paper.

An old quote states: "Good luck happens when preparedness meets opportunity."

So possibly the reverse is true that "bad luck happens when no planning meets the unknown."

Simply speaking, the failure to plan is planned failure. Without an action plan to begin to guide a business or even an individual, the end result is usually walking down the wrong path along with a lot of spraying and praying going on.

This creates a working harder not smarter business environment. The business owners in the earlier story are both discouraged because what they believed to be some easy money now has become a daily effort just to keep the doors open.

If you want luck, then make it part of your action plan. Commit your goals to writing. Work your action plan, plan your work. Then see all of the luck come your way or if you want believe that you have been lucky.