Business planning is the key step for ensuring your business has focus and can achieve outstanding results. The traditional lengthy business plan does not work. – it takes too long to complete and the vast majority of business owners want a much shorter document that lists the goals and the actions to be taken. This will be covered in a future Blog - The ‘Key Outcomes and Activities Statement’. This explains how you must have a shorter document that states your goals and the projects to be implemented to achieve success.
If you are going to write a business plan, listed below are the 15 rules to make it work for you and your business;
1. The business plan must be a 'Working' document - it is the key agent for directing and managing the business. The plan must be the key source document used by the business owner and senior staff to guide the business forward. The plan must be in a format that the business owner finds to be engaging and is easy to use on a regular basis. The plan is the road map for taking control of your future - it is only of value if it is used.
2. The business plan is a 'Living' document - it must be updated and kept relevant. The plan is not set in stone. It must be flexible in adapting to outside forces and changed circumstances. Often the end goals will remain the same but the resources and the strategies being used need to be adapted to unforeseen circumstances. An example is the decision of a key employee to resign - the three year objectives of the business do not change but there may be a need to redirect priorities in the short term towards reassuring existing clients and recruiting a replacement.
3. The business plan must be succinct - with key information being listed in point form. The greater the number of pages in a business plan, the less likely it will be used in practice. When the owner or key employees need to use the plan, they must be able to find the key points readily and be able to act on the document immediately. Huge tracts of text buried in a large document that resembles the telephone directory is not user friendly and will not be used.
4. The focus of the business plan must always be on achieving the desired outcomes. The plan's role is to direct activity towards the achievement of the desired goals in the plan. These goals must always be listed at the front of this document.
5. The business plan must list the key actions and the performance benchmarks. The implementation of a business plan is all about having a clear path of actions to take. The plan details how momentum will be created and maintained.
6. Key individuals in the business must be actively involved in the development of the plan.Involving key staff means you receive the benefit of their knowledge and experience, but you also gain their commitment to the plan's implementation through their involvement in its construction. The plan should not be an alien document to those responsible for its implementation.
7. Potential barriers to the successful implementation of the plan must be identified and acted on. The initial implementation of the plan must be managed and momentum must be built for its ongoing success. The plan is about introducing change into the business - and change will face resistance to varying degrees from staff.
8. The business plan must have operational relevance for its ongoing implementation to be successful.Operational staff must be able to see a link between their activities and the stated goals. Too often plans are written at such a strategic level that operational employees are unable to see any relevance to what they do in the plan.
9. The business plan must be the key reference point with all major decisions. Whenever a major decision is made, reference must be given to the business plan. Is the decision consistent with the goals of the plan? Does the plan need to be updated? The business plan will be dramatically undermined if key decisions are made without considering its relevance.
10. The information used in the construction of the plan must be factual, accurate and relevant. The plan must be built on facts and objective reasoning. where the plan becomes a 'political football' or is biased in any way, then far too much effort is wasted on secondary issues.
11. During implementation of the plan don't become trapped in trying to have the perfect implementation.There always exists a danger that the focus of the key participants becomes the perfect execution of the implementation stage rather than the plan itself. This often takes the form of each action being painstakingly reviewed prior to action being taken.
12. The goals in the business plan must be challenging and rewarding. There is a balance to be struck between overly optimistic goals and goals that are not challenging because they are set too low. The goals must be exciting and stimulating. They must have meaning and really be a source of motivation. Goals that are set low and would be achieved in the normal course of events really raises the question whether there should be a business plan in the first place.
13. Does the plan detail the innovation strategy that the business will use to capitalise on change?Innovation is a key element in the growth of any business. There needs to be processes in place to ensure the business capitalises on change and new opportunities.
14. External resources must be engaged at all stages of the business plan's development and implementation. Use a mentor or coach to challenge your ideas and to assist you with implementation.
15. Project manage implementation.The best approach to implementing the actions listed in a plan is to establish a set of projects linked to each of the major goals. An approach based on individual projects is an effective means of implementing the desired actions and makes everyone accountable.
In the next blog I will discuss the 'Key Outcome and Activities Statement' as the easy alternative to the traditional business plan.
Mark Laing - Business Coach
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