Welcome back to the Sunstone Way!
I love it when a good plan comes together. Don’t you?
Planning really is key to ultimately succeeding. That’s why teaching business planning plays such a big role in everything, from a master’s degree in business administration to Entrepreneurship 101.
Planning is a huge part of most aspects of life. You’ve heard the phrase Game Plan haven’t you? It is a key to the ongoing success of my beloved USC Trojans football team – and things are getting serious right now as we prepare to Fight On!
Training Camp
Preparations for the Trojans’ 2026 campaign began last spring, at least for the players. (Coaches are always preparing, recruiting players for this team months and sometimes years ago.) There were 15 spring practices from March 3 through April 4, where players began to learn what was expected of them and coaches began evaluating abilities in real time.
USC’s opening game is on Saturday, Aug. 29, against San Jose State University (and yes, I hope to be there). But even the mighty Trojans would have little chance for victory if the team just showed up that day without practicing, and without a plan.
No, Coach Lincoln Riley has been running the players through their paces since July 31. There has been plenty of stamina building, strength workouts, etc. But there also has been lots of work to teach players how to fit in with the USC plan – blocking techniques, pass routes, where to be when for a slew of different plays and situations.
Coach Riley and his staff of 12 paid and multiple volunteer coaches have been putting in their own work, refining general offensive, defensive, and special teams plans. This is the week when the players start to practice the game plan for the opener Aug. 29 at the iconic Los Angeles Coliseum.
Doing it Better
Of course, college football teams across the country are following pretty much the same approach for training, practicing and planning. It’s our goal, the Trojan goal, to do it better!
How do we do that, though? It starts with finding the leaders with the right traits – someone with experience, with knowledge, and with creativity. When you get to the level of the USC Trojans, you expect the best of the best!
Then it is a matter of developing a plan for success. It has to be detailed, with milestones to measure progress. It also has to be flexible enough to adjust to unforeseen circumstances – an injury to a star player, an opponent with a game plan of their own that you didn’t expect or the extremely rare rainstorm on gameday!
Finally, the entire team has to buy into the plan. Even one player going off on their own can doom the best game plan ever. But when everyone is on the same page, amazing things happen.
Getting the Win
In order to plan, you must have a goal. In sports terms, it is a win. In USC Trojan terms, it is another National Championship – did you know we already have 11 National Championship trophies displayed in the brand-new Bloom Performance Center on the USC campus?
Every win during the season is a step toward that goal. The process becomes a plan to reach the first goal, which allows a plan for the second goal and on until you reach the final goal.
But even when you reach the final goal, that isn’t the end. National champions plan for the next season, the next chance to take the trophy home.
In Business
As I’m sure you are aware, the parallels between USC football and success in business – as a founder, an investor, a member of a company team – are many. A good business plan sets you up for success. It attracts partners and teammates. Reaching intermediate goals allows the plan to expand toward the ultimate goal.
And if some portion of the plan doesn’t work out, what do you do? Fight On!
I am a firm believer in planning for success, and every sector of Sunstone works on their plan – refining, preparing and executing. When circumstances change, plans change.
More importantly, we work to be advisors to those in need of planning – planning a business, planning an infrastructure project, planning an investment. It’s what we do. It is the Sunstone Way!
And remember, always be a Sunstone.
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone
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Sunstone Investment Group, headquartered in Southern California, is the holding company for the Sunstone family of entities, including: Sunstone Investment Management Services, responsible for administrative services; Sunstone Advisors, an SEC-registered investment adviser, which oversees Sunstone Venture Partners LLC, a private capital fund manager; Sunstone Cities, a government economic development consulting firm; and Sunstone Community Fund, a charitable organization that supports entrepreneurship. Sunstone is dedicated to enriching lives through investment, entrepreneurship, and community. Email us at contact@sunstoneinvestment.com.
©Sunstone, 2026