Let's hold hands and chant it together: "Failing to plan is planning to fail. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Amen."
You with me?
We all know that we're supposed to be best friends with business and strategic planning, but does it really make a difference? And if it does make a difference, who has time for it? After the grueling work of creating a business plan, many business owners just want to coast on the fumes of that work and skip the further planning -- relying, instead, on brains, charisma, energy or flexibility to carry them through.
The idea of planning is to close the gap between ideas and action, concept and execution, dreams and results. Done right, strategic planning can move from a painful annual event to the daily, weekly way you do business. Your plan is a living blueprint, created in Technicolor, that answers all of your key questions and leaves you with the capacity to ask more and better questions for the further development of your actions and results.
Strategic plans, at their best, answer key questions that can help you shape your company's future:
Why are we doing this? Vision statements, long considered confusing marketing incantations, are critical to your success.
A powerful intention is the first step to a powerful result. In preparing your
vision, consider both why you're in this business and what it will mean for you to be successful:
a business vision and a personal vision may be in order.
What
business are we really in? For what are we going to be
known? Hint: it isn't excellent customer service (name one
business who won't claim that one). Walgreens is known for
convenience in a world that isn't perfect, Starbucks sells an
excellent experience (you thought it was coffee?), Village
Pantry stores are ubiquitous ("if we're not in your neighborhood
yet, we're on the way home" the old jingle went).
Exactly where do I want to end up next year?
Your business plan may outline the broader picture for your
business. Here, you're creating a 12-month cut at the bigger
picture. How much money are you going to make? What markets will
you open up?
What do we
want to be sure we don't lose on the way? You may be in a
cutthroat business, but are committed to operating with high
integrity, or you may want to foster solid relationships and
build a thriving community around you. Who you are in business
and who you are in life should align perfectly. Remember: a
split personality is nothing to purposely develop.
Where are we and how did we get here?
Knowing where your customers came from, what worked and how the
past year came together will allow you to repeat your wins and to understand the nature of your misses.
What will
next year's key approaches be? Your winning strategy may be
to add a full turn-key internet solution, creating a new employee performance management system to get and keep the best employees.
Find a few key approaches and go deep. The key approaches may
also point to gaps in current processes. Remember: planning and
execution can shift what's already working.
Precisely what will I do over the next 12 months to get there?
Objectives and action plans will help guide your daily, weekly and monthly actions.
Strategic plans, further, have certain qualities that allow them to succeed:
Write it down. Even one page plans can provide focus and alignment among key contributors
(without losing your mind writing your business' version of
War and Peace). In fact, for most micro-enterprise to small
businesses, much more than one page may not be necessary. Strip
it down to the bare essentials, write it up and carry it with
you.
Do it..
If you've kept if short and simple, you can carry your plan with
you, take it to meetings, share it with key partners. Create an
accountability system to help you stay on track.
Change it.
Married to your mate? Good idea. Married to your plan? Not so
good. You may succeed ahead of schedule -- create a new plan. Conversely, you may find that your planning and
implementation have shown that your plan is off track -- revise your work. Your plan should be a living document,
flexible enough to make room for new opportunities and solid
enough that you can use it to stay the course when opportunities
to go off track emerge.
If you still find yourself challenged in your strategic planning or
strategic follow-through efforts, give me a call. I may be able to
help.
