10½ ways to successful business planning
We hope that you have had a restful and relaxing summer holiday. Now that you are back, are you finding it a struggle to settle back into the working environment? If the answer is yes, you will probably not want to think about planning for the future.... but now, as we approach autumn, it is the perfect time to start thinking about next year’s business plan.
We all know how critical a thorough and concise plan is to the future success of a business. The 10 ½ ideas offered below will provide you with motivation and focus to make 2009 a winning year.
1. Strive for Perfection
In order to strive for perfection and success within your business you need to have a very clear idea of what 'perfection' looks like. What are you aiming for and how will you know when you get there?
With a focused and relevant business plan you will have the blueprints and foundations on which to build your future. By plotting your route and with check points along the way, you will know whether or not you are heading in the right direction.
So, prepare your plan, work and live your plan, and you will be well on the way to reaching your goals.
2. Review your current business plan
Before embarking on a new business plan for the year ahead, you must reflect honestly and accurately on your current position. You need to be able to have total clarity of where you are at regular points during the business year.
Think about hard goals (financial) and soft goals (non financial) and ask yourself questions such as:
• What is your personal vision?
• What is your level of commitment to achieve this vision?
• What have you learnt in the past 6 months?
• What have been the highlights?
• What resources have been used?
There are many more questions which you can ask yourself in order to review the past year and enable you to forecast for 2009. This is just the start.
3. Time flies when you are having fun
From time to time we all feel that time is passing us by. You look at your workload and your personal life, trying to work out how you will fit everything in. When it comes to planning for the next business year you may think that you have more important things to do with your time. But in order to reach your goals you need to make sure that you allocate enough time to plan effectively.
Set aside a couple of hours a week to analyse the past years performance and to plan for the next year. Don't see this as a chore; make it as enjoyable and pleasurable as you can. Take the work out of the office and treat yourself to a coffee. Once you get started there will be no stopping you!
4. Attention to detail
Attention to detail is of upmost importance. You need to ensure that the information included in your plan is concise, and includes enough detail to enable you to make informed decisions. Make sure that the plan is professional, workable, has realistic assumptions, credible projections and accurate content.
Paying attention to detail at this stage of the process will enable you to more accurately assess at a later date whether you have exceeded or met your projections.
5. Do the sums
Do your objectives meet your financial capabilities?
Not all of us are master mathematicians or fantastic number crunchers, but you need to make sure that you know exactly what the financial incomings and outgoings of the company are.
By keeping a handle of the finances you will be able to see whether your objectives are financially viable.
6. Exploration
An integral part of understanding your companies’ position and how to plan for the future is to fully understand your competitors. By conducting thorough and explorative research you will be able to see what your competitors are doing and also if there are new competitors in the market place.
By researching your competitors you will gain an insight into your companies’ strengths and weaknesses which will inspire you to create new ideas and concepts to help you excel.
7. Learn from your mistakes
What went wrong this year? What mistakes can you learn from, and how can you make sure that the same thing doesn’t happen next year?
We all make mistakes, but it is how we overcome them that can either make a business succeed or fail. Holding up your hands and admitting a mistake rather than brushing it under the carpet will make you a stronger more successful person.
This year analyse mistakes made and see what you can learn from them in order to create SMARTER goals and objectives for 2009.
8. SMARTER goals
Did you set SMARTER goals? Have you met or exceeded all of your objectives set?
By not setting specific goals you will hinder rather than help grow your business. This will result in having no clear focus, unmotivated employees, and using resources which would be better used elsewhere.
In order to make your business more efficient you need to set SMARTER goals. Make sure that your objectives are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time based, Exciting and Recorded objectives.
What goals are you setting for 2009? Do you want to share them with us?
9. Don't beat yourself up
Have a positive and flexible mind set. Goals that you set now are not fixed in stone.... you can change them! Adopt a practice of regularly checking and reviewing your progress towards the initial goals that you have set. If the goals are no longer practical you can tweak and even change them to fit the direction of the business.
Goals are set to help and guide you, not to hinder your progress. If the goal you have set is no longer attainable perhaps it was not the right goal to have. Consider this to be a learning curve and not failure.
10. Implement the plan
The plan should be viewed as a living document, which contains specifics regarding dates, deadlines and responsibilities. By using the plan as a live document you will be able to use it in 'plan versus reality' discussions.
10½. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and advice
Once you have completed your plan, show it to someone detached from the business who will be able to offer constructive feedback on all aspects. Recommendations made may lead to you asking questions about the plan and direct you to some concepts which need revisiting.
Size 10 ½ Boots has a panel of four trusted advisors who challenge and add value to the business plan every year. Their input has been invaluable to the success of the business.
This month's Famous Feet
Michael Phelps, Olympic Gold Medalist, wears a size 14.
His size 14 feet combined with powerful hips make Phelps the most successful human dolphin in the world.
What our clients say about us
We needed help with strategic planning. Bernard worked with us to produce a template to our marketing plan. We were immediately impressed by his focus and lateral thinking.
Andrew Borkowski, Partner, Geldards, Law Firm
Famous feet
Jennifer Aniston
Actress
Shoe size: 6½
