EPISODE SUMMARY
The Plan That Only Exists in Your Head
Why Undocumented Growth Plans Quietly Sabotage Business Value
Overview
In this episode, Tom Perrone, CLU, CIC — founder of New England Consulting Group of Guilford and creator of the GWT Planning System® (Growth, Wealth, Transition) — shares a pattern he has seen repeat itself across five decades of consulting with business owners: the most valuable plans in the company never make it out of the owner's head.
Tom explains that when he asks clients about their future plans for growth and transition, the answer is almost always the same: “it's all in my head.” An idea that lives only in one person's mind isn't a plan — it's a thought. And a thought that's never written down, shared, or delegated can't be executed by anyone else.
Key Discussion Points
- A real plan has to be documented and shared — verbal intentions don't count as a growth or transition strategy, no matter how clear they feel to the owner.
- Tom recounts a recent client conversation where he recommended the owner build a written blueprint and share it with his growing middle-management team, along with his accountant, attorney, and other advisors.
- The same objection comes up year after year: “I haven't gotten around to formulating my plans as of yet” — what Tom calls his own version of Groundhog Day.
- Without communication and delegation, a business loses growth momentum and begins to decline — employees can't execute a direction they were never given.
- Owners consistently describe their business as their most valuable asset, yet many don't extend that same seriousness to documenting how it will grow or transition.
Reflection Questions for Listeners
• Does your business have a written growth plan, or is it all in your head?
• If it's in your head, why keep it there?
• If you have a written growth plan, what motivated you to create it?
• Have you been through this with your company — what was the biggest problem it created?
Takeaway
The businesses that hold their value — and successfully transition it — are the ones whose owners get their plans out of their heads and onto paper, where their team and advisors can actually help carry them out.
About the Host
What is Building and Protecting Your Business Worth?
“Building and Protecting Your Business Worth Podcast” brings together ideas from successful small business owners, and professionals from many different industries to share strategies and ideas to help create business growth, increased profits, and to protect your business worth from the “What If’s Of Life”.
The podcast will share ideas of how to unlock your “Business DNA”, creating more efficient business decisions, leisure time, and more fun in your business.