Its that time of year to schedule some strategic planning sessions with your executive team or to retreat into your man cave or woman cave and do some reflection on where you are at, where you have been and most importantly, where are you going?
Strategic planning comes in 4 phase:
1) Plan
2) Track Performance
3) Submit Results
4) Repeat
1) Plan
To be clear, we are not discussing a business plan. I'm taking a living breathing growth formula intertwined into a 5 year forecast. Check out the market landscape, micro and macro, run a SWOT analysis, what constraints exist? Are Inflation & human capital of concern? Are the company's resources being put to optimal use? Time to update your company's value proposition: WHY DO CUSTOMER BUY FROM YOU? Where will this business be in 5 years? ... and let's work backward on how to get there.
2) Track Performance
You need GAAP-complicant financials, 3 sets: income statement, balance sheet, and cash-flow statements, closed monthly and professionally reviewed and audited. Set up daily and weekly dashboards as well that keep you current of the companies most important financial and operational metrics.. Like the dashboard on your car,
3) Submit Results
Executives need to be held accountable for implementing the strategic plan and tracking results. Make sure to submit your reports to your board in a timely fashion and request their feedback and accountability. If you don't have a formal board of directors, set up an "advisory board" of outside industry #professionals to assist in #strategic #planning and holding your executive team accountable for #results.
4) Repeat
Every year, get with your executive team check your results from last year. Where did you excel and where did you fall short. Keep the 5-year format rolling by adding a new 5th year and archiving the previous year.
It's true that if you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there. Business building is too important to take any road. As a business leader, your job is to make sure your company has implemented a strategic plan. Know where you are going, and know how to get there.
Dream Business Brokers offers confidential, complimentary strategic planning sessions to certain qualified businesses. For more information, call us at (866) CA-DREAM , visit www.DREAM.bb , or email hello@dream.bb