The Mindset of "No Plan B"

Are You (unknowingly) Setting Yourself Up For A Way Out?

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What is your “Plan B?” 

If you’re like many of my clients, you don’t have one.

It can be a scary thought for some, and thrilling for others…all in. This will work or it will not. No other options, no safety net, no backup strategy.

Taking leaps, risks, and putting it on the line.

We often think of “No Plan B” as the marker of early days, but if you’re larger (or further along in your career or business), you are still taking chances and making investments that still are not giving yourself “outs.” You could sell your company but you choose not to. Stay at a great company, but choose to leave. Stay in a single revenue path, but choose to expand. 

There are just different sorts of “outs” you can give yourself as you grow…. Being seasoned doesn’t make the path without risk - it often just changes the nature of the risks you take. You choose directions, make decisions, and these decisions set the stage for the years to come. 

You will grow or you won’t. Succeed or fail. 

The most successful people I work with don’t give themselves cognitive “outs.” By that I mean they don’t leave room in their head, in their thoughts, and in their focus for failure or fallback - they don’t have a “Plan B.” They want something, they will take the path - whether that’s a certain scale of business, a position they’re gunning for, or a number on the scorecard - and they bet on themselves to not need the backup plan that the less certain always seem to turn to when things are precarious.

This isn’t about playing stupid, it’s about commitment and conviction to a path ahead - not giving yourself a “Plan B,” and not operating with a backup plan in mind. It’s about having confidence in your own capabilities and trusting your ability to figure it out when things get hard. We’re going to talk a bit about how this mindset happens, and the strategies you can use to really lock into your day-to-day, so let’s dive in.