Time to make plans!
T'is the season to be jolly we are told. More than that it is a time when we eat far too much. Drink too much (if that is at all possible) spend huge amounts on presents that hopefully the recipient wants, and celebrate with family and friends. No doubt there will be the usual tales of good will to all men on Telly. Why do all the Xmas stories seem to be set in America, mind you they are closer to the North Pole than most, probably on Santas outbound delivery route. I am looking forward to falling asleep in front of one of them after my enormous Turkey dinner to wake up just before someone suggests we have Turkey sandwiches, cold meats and pickles! Got to get rid of the Turkey somehow. No wonder we only eat it once per year! When boxing day is over and so have the visits to ageing relatives, the kids and Grandkids toys are now just a distant memory, (why did Uncle George buy little Billy that drum kit, I'll get him back!) As a business owner our thoughts turn to the year ahead! Time to make plans, time to grow the business, time to rally the troops, time to take over the world!!!! Where to start? Why not find the plan you made last year and do it again. In fact as you never implemented the plan why not just change the dates and add a few more targets and action plans! Job Done! Business don't plan to fail they fail to plan! We have all heard this expression trotted out with regularity and business seminars and events. It is not, in itself incorrect, but I go a stage further. Business don't plan to fail they fail to implement the plan they have made! Why should this be, after all you spent ages pouring over company records, analysing the market, preparing production, finance and marketing plans. You have calculated what staff you will need. Looked at the equipment you have got, even considered moving premises and put that in your plan. You have spreadsheets forecasting profit and the more tech savvy have even plugged these forecasts into their accounting system ready to hit 2020 at a sprint.. So why does it all fall apart. Life. Day to Day Life gets in the way. You turn up in January ready to start ploughing through your ideas and initiatives and then the phone rings! One of your much loved clients has a problem which now has become your problem and you have to sort it out! An email arrives which diverts your attention. You fire up your laptop and a tweet from someone catches your eye and before you know it it is December once more and the business plan is just a dusty document in your bottom drawer. What can be done to break this habit! A New Year's resolution is a great thing, lets stop procrastinating and get on with the plan. How can we ensure that this happens. Shameful plug but get a Business Coach or Non Executive Director in. They will have regular meetings with you and hold you to account. If you think you cannot afford this, think what it is costing you by not getting your plan implemented. They will help you by doing all or some of the following, you can of course do this yourself, but if the day to day gets in the way will you be disciplined enough to get back to the plan thereafter? Set aside time to work on your business. The meetings to start with should sense check your plans, are they robust? Have you considered all the implications of your plans? Can you afford to do what you say you are going to do. Will cash flow kill you off, more businesses go bust coming out of a recession than going into one. Break your plans into manageable chunks. I recommend doing a 90 Day plan for each key member of your management team. Ensure these plans are aligned with the overall business plan for the year. Have a weekly meeting with your staff. Get them to report back on what they have achieved and what's left to do. You can use this data with your monthly meeting with your NED or coach. Set up Key Performance Indicators. Make sure you are measuring the right things. Decide what you need to be doing to be successful and measure that. Ensure you publish your results so that everyone can see their impact on the targets. I ran a marketing business with a team of cold callers. I had a 60 inch TV on the wall linked to a PC that ran a software product that should how many calls each caller made. This inspired the callers to try and out do each other and be the most proactive by the end of the day. It worked for us. Look at your accounts, what are they telling you? Are you pricing correctly? Can you cut your margins and improve your Profits? More of that in another blog. Celebrate success. When your team hits or exceeds their targets show them some love! It does not have to be a big thing, a figurative pack on the back might be all that is needed. Adapt your plans to changing circumstances. History is littered with companies that failed to adapt when the world had moved on and their businesses failed as a result. Just because you have the best product does not mean you are going to be a success. For those of you that are old enough to remember video tape, Betamax had the best product but VHS won the war! Try and be unemotional about your business. You need to make the right decisions not ones caught up in relationships both past and present. In some family businesses they go on trading way after they should have ceased or changed direction because of some loyalty to previous generations. An NED or coach will be unemotional and will steer you down the right path. If you can do all the above by yourselves then please do and let me how you are getting on during the course of the year, Good luck and Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. Written by: Martin Reynolds
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