Had an Aepiphanni, Lately? (January 2011)
Go 10,000 Miles in 2011 | Had an Aepiphanni, Lately?
January, 2011
10,000 miles. 52,800,000 feet. 20,000,000 steps. Regardless of the goal, regardless of the division, everyone that reaches a goal they’ve created starts with a single step. That single step starts with a plan.
None of the greatest plans of mice and men have any
value without a plan.
King Solomon says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.”
Creating goals and planning for them are foundational for any organization. Continuing to operate the business the same way you always have, while easier than creating change, will typically result in loss of market share, obsolescence and eventually, closure of the business. “Same stuff, different day” doesn’t float in this neighborhood.
That said, consider using the following steps to complete your organization’s 2011 planning and build a solid growth plan for your company.
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Businesses don’t exist in a bubble. There are existing clients/customers potential clients/customers, competitors, vendors and employees that have
direct impact on the business and its success. Their needs are dynamic; they are constantly changing, from buying habits to their ability to spend
to prices, industry practices, technologies, etc.
Business leaders that take the time or make the investment to find out what changes are a)
occurring in the marketplace presently and b) likely to occur in the near future are business leaders that can make good decisions on behalf of their company.
The important consideration, here, is the age and accuracy and relevancy of the information. While older information may give you an idea of how often change might occur, or a history of changes in buying patterns, you may find that you are missing trends that are presently occurring, and thus missing opportunities.
What does the data mean? Analyzing the data is what will make the difference between a
costly exercise and a value-driven business activity. Analyzing the data will answer
the questions:
- What advancing technologies, changing buying patterns and approaching trends will allow your company to be more profitable in 2011?
- How can we anticipate and meet the changing needs of our best customers, ensuring that they feel like they are getting great value, even if they have to pay a little more for it?
- Are my or other vendors offering new products,
services while maintaining the same quality that others are and that I expect? - Are there trends in my industry that my company could be taking advantage of which will allow us to gain market share?
Knowing how your business can leverage its capabilities is no different than a battlefield commander knowing his or her enemy. If they are a knife-wielding army, and their enemy is a gun wielding one, typically, in battle, those that have the superior technology will emerge victorious. However, creative analysis and planning could reveal opportunities that could turn the tables.
Consider this…if you aren’t moving…you’re stuck. If your obstacles are stopping you, you are stuck.
The brainstorming process provides a foundation, both for expanding the information you’ve uncovered in the analysis phase and for revisiting developing ideas.
In brainstorming, no ideas are bad, non are far-fetched.
Sometimes it is the ideas that don’t seem to make sense, or the
ideas that are outside of the company beliefs that lead to the
greatest innovations for a company when tweaked and aligned.
Ensure that the brainstorming session has some type of structure or boundaries, including goals of the session, background – information that was gathered and analyzed and the company beliefs. Conducting a brainstorming sessions should be done in a neutral environment where, if possible, ideas that are generated are anonymous, thus avoiding “power plays” or “group think.” Let all members of the group see ideas as they are generated and continue to the idea generation process.
Finally, analyze the brainstorming session, labeling ideas as long term, short term, high priority and low priority. Your prioritization methods should be aligned with your company beliefs, answering “how will this affect my stakeholders: employees, customers,
clients, vendors, investors and the community?”
Planning
Planning is the stage where the ideas are put to work. While you may not use all of the ideas generated from the brainstorming session, after analyzing them, you should have an idea of how they will fit into your organizational goals for the year. Because the landscape changes constantly, you’ll want to create an overall strategy, which describes how you will accomplish your goals, in general, over a certain timeframe. For example, you might say that you wish to increase the number of leads in your pipeline to 100 by the end of first quarter (March 31).
Once you have created your strategy, incorporating each of the approved items from the brainstorming session, you’ll begin planning – creating the tactics that will be required to fulfill each goal in the strategy. You’ll want to be very specific in the short view, while keeping the long view in mind.
For example, if your goal is to increase to 100 leads by the end of the first quarter (short view), then 200 by the end of third quarter (long view), you’ll want to be more specific about how you will get that first 100 leads because you may need to enhance your tactics over the course of time. You may need to increase your brand awareness, increase your networking and further identify your target markets.
As you plan, consider the resources you will need in order to accomplish the goal. Is it more people? More money? More space? How will you acquire the resources you will need to get where you want to be. Keep in mind that money and barter are tools you can
leverage to get where you need to be.
Your business is probably very unique. The way you run your business is unique. If it wasn’t you could probably go work for somebody else that does the exact same thing you
are doing and help them get further in what they do. Everyone else’s solutions won’t
necessarily work for you.
There is no formula that works for every business to make it successful. There is no
methodology that works for all of the people, all of the time.
As a business leader, it is your responsibility to make the best decisions when approaching your obstacle. While every decision you make may not be 100% right, making poorly
thought out decisions could have devastating consequences.
Execution
Your strategy and subsequent goals will be the path that you follow, while continuing to evaluate the landscape, in order to reach the goals that you have set up for the year. Staying vigilant and watchful will keep you abreast of changes and allow you to make changes in your plan before getting over-committed in any direction.
As the business leader, it will be your responsibility to keep everyone involved on track. You’ll probably find that some things are harder to manage than others. You’ll probably notice that some people, perhaps including yourself, will notice that it’s easier to remain the same then reach the next plateau. By keeping the vision or the benefits of the ideal situation in front of you and your team, change will come much easier. Attitude can often
be the difference between those who achieve and those who watch it on television.
The final important aspect of planning is to evaluate what your company has done in the past. Regardless of the success of the endeavors, what you will gain by reviewing the activities will affect your company’s forward process. Don’t focus on the fact that they
were failures, but rather, what, specifically, went wrong, and what you can do to keep your company moving forward. Don’t be inclined to avoid an idea altogether, simply because it didn’t go the way you planned. Sometimes re-evaluation and repositioning
is possible in order to get the results you desire. Finally, realize that your business will not change by itself, nor will success be “thrust upon it” simply
because you do the same thing the same way.
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