Last week, I told my son we needed to clean up the leaves in the backyard. Simple enough. But when I suggested setting a time, he looked at me like I’d just asked him to draw up a business plan. "Why do we need a schedule for that?" he asked. "We can just do it whenever."
I understood where he was coming from. To him, schedules and structure felt like red tape. But I went ahead and set the plan, reminding him as the weekend rolled in. And then, of course, the weekend passed, and he didn’t do it.
Today, we circled back to that conversation. I reminded him that without a plan, nothing got done. Simple as that. He admitted he’d forgotten, and we both agreed that a schedule might feel like a hassle, but it works.
This isn’t just about leaves in a backyard. For business owners, leaders, and anyone trying to build something bigger than themselves, the same lesson applies. Structure and accountability are often the difference between what gets done and what doesn’t. Carol Dweck, a leader in the study of motivation, found that people with a “growth mindset” thrive with responsibilities and goals. When you see daily tasks as learning opportunities, the small stuff suddenly becomes meaningful.
It’s easy to think you’ll get to that marketing initiative, set aside time for employee development, or finally tackle that customer feedback backlog whenever you find the time. But without a real plan, things slip. In Dweck’s research, teams that set clear intentions and adapt to their mistakes outperform those that go with the flow. They handle setbacks better and approach challenges as growth opportunities. Planning, then, becomes a tool, not just a formality.
Angela Duckworth calls this “grit,” the power of passion and perseverance. It’s the habit of showing up and the resilience to stick with commitments, even small ones. Setting a simple plan, whether it’s for a team meeting, customer outreach, or hitting a quarterly goal, may seem insignificant, but these small steps build grit. In Duckworth’s research, those who practiced grit through daily routines showed up stronger when it really mattered.
For leaders, the lesson is clear. It’s a domino effect. Set the plan, show up, learn from it. Next time, it’s easier. And then, it’s second nature.
So, yes, setting a schedule might feel like a minor thing. But when it’s done consistently, it builds momentum. It teaches resilience. And in a world full of distractions, consistency is often what separates businesses that thrive from those that just get by.
My son might not remember this conversation a year from now, but he’ll remember the habit. For us as leaders, that habit is the whole point.
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