"I'm Not Sure Where We're Going - But We're Making Good Time"
by Gary Drake, Director of Consulting Resources for the CLIENT ADVOCATE NETWORK
At some point in our career, all of us have had that feeling. Waking up at 3 am in a cold sweat, wondering what to do, or what our next step should be.
Whether your business is large or small, three things must be in place to reach your goal(s). These are: a written Business Plan, a Process to execute that plan, and proper allocation of Capital, People, and Knowledge to achieve your success. These efforts will define your Business Model. Your Plan and Process must be in writing. If it is not in writing, then it has not been said.
Why have a written Plan?
- Allows Management to brainstorm and talk through the Business Goal(s) and Objective(s). The Plan creates a visual "Roadmap" that outlines the Goal(s) and possible obstacles. The Plan will allow for the evaluation of the Goal(s) making sure that each is obtainable. This addresses the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that the business must both rely upon and overcome to reach its Goal(s). These areas include both internal and external conditions. This evaluation will lead to a gap analysis so management has a clearer understanding of how to allocate Capital, People and Knowledge.
- Allows Management to compare performance against the plan so necessary corrective action is taken in a timely manner. If the business lacks a plan, Management will be reactive rather than proactive. Our "Roadmap" will provide options to manage variation, deviation and change with clearer solutions.
- Allows Management to change or modify the Goal(s) and Objective(s) in a proactive manner with an understanding of the change's impact.
- Allows Management the option, when there is a variance to plan, to conduct root cause analysis to differentiate causes from symptoms.
Why have a written Process?
- To identify the steps required to execute the Business Plan. These steps are a collection of related, structured activities that will produce results necessary to meet the goal(s) and objective(s). These processes are critical, as they generate revenue and often represent a significant proportion of costs.
- To help define the skill-sets and other resources of the organization's infa-structure.
- To provide a framework for Continuous Process Improvement to eliminate waste, reduce cycle time, and improve efficiency. This will improve customer satisfaction, increase revenue and reduce cost. Therefore, the bottom-line will be positively impacted.
- When processes are changed, allows Management to understand and conduct root cause analysis to differentiate causes from symptoms.
With a written Plan and Process to execute the Plan, the required resources can be identified, acquired and allocated in an efficient manner.
Without a Plan, success is more luck or just being at the right place right time. Even then, Management will probably not have a good understanding of what really happened and more importantly - why.
Creating a Plan without a Process, resources cannot be clearly identified, acquired, and allocated. Management will be inefficient; more reactive than proactive. This management style is known as Fire Fighting.
By creating a written Plan with stated Goal(s) and a Process to execute the plan, you will able to connect the dots with efficient utilization and allocation of Capital, People, and Knowledge to ensure success.
We will then "Know Where We're Going and Be Making Good Time".
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