Archive for the ‘Strategy Development’ Category

Do You Think Of The Chicken When You’re Eating An Omelette?

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

For some people, breakfast, if they even call it that, is just a cup of coffee. For others, it’s cereal or a cooked breakfast.

But, regardless of what we reach for, we do it to provide fuel for our bodies and minds. That’s the result we want. To create an omelette, chickens are the strategy

Imagine for a moment that you’re an omelette person. You start every day eating your personal favourite – maybe it’s mushroom, or western, or jalapeño.

The result is you go to work feeling good, ready for the challenges of the day.

Fine, but what on earth do omelettes and strategy consulting have in common?

Think of it this way.

While the ingredients required for the filling vary with each person’s taste, every omelette – every single one – needs eggs. And to get eggs you need chickens.

Now I don’t know about you, but when I’m rushing around in the morning, getting dressed and so on, I’m already thinking about what I have to achieve during the day.

When – if – I spare a thought for the omelette, it’s about the result it will give me, the energy to get through the day.

If someone stopped me, in that frenetic time between getting out of bed and leaving the house, and tried to tell me that the chicken and the egg were what mattered, I’d brush them off.

Chickens are the strategy and energy is the result.

I know that to get my result a chicken is required because I must have eggs to make my omelette. But, on a day-to-day basis, it’s the result I’m interested in, not the chicken, the eggs or the omelette.

Business owners want results – growth in sales and profits – the strategies that produce them are just a means to that end.

So they don’t buy strategies; they buy what strategies, successfully executed, will do for them. I have to admit that, when I started consulting, it took me a couple of years to figure that out.

That doesn’t mean to say that business owners won’t stay abreast of developments in strategy development and execution. The ones we work with most certainly do.

But that’s like me reading up on whether free-range, grain-fed chickens are better than battery hens and whether omelettes made with egg whites are healthier than those made with yolks.

Knowing about the chickens and how to make omelettes helps me make choices about how to improve the result I want – in this case getting the energy and staying healthier.

Staying abreast of the developments in strategy and execution (e.g., Roger Martin’s 5 questions, how to build flexibility into the process) helps business owners understand how to improve their results. Strategy is still required even in today’s fast-changing business world.

But, in the final analysis, all they want are the results.

If you enjoyed this post you’ll also enjoy Strategy – Don’t Think It, Experience It.

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Tags: business owners, chickens, growth, Jim Stewart, omelette, Process, ProfitPATH, profits, results, strategy, Strategy Development, Strategy Execution
Posted in Planning, Process, Strategy Development, Strategy Execution | No Comments »

6 Things We Can All Learn From Family-Owned Businesses

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013

But first I have to point out that not all family-owned businesses are created equal. Learning from family-owned businesses

The 6 things I’m going to talk about come from a study of 149 large, publicly-traded, family-controlled businesses.

However, stay with me because we’ve seen the same characteristics in the successful family-owned businesses we’ve dealt with – and none of them are publicly traded.

Another thing – the study looked at 1997 – 2009, covering some good and some very tough times. Guess what? The family-controlled businesses, on average, turned in better long-term financial performance than non-family businesses – in multiple countries.

So what are the 6 things we can learn?

1. Family-controlled businesses are frugal in good times and bad. How? They don’t, for example, have luxurious offices. That’s because they view the company’s money as the family’s money – and so keep a tight rein on all expenses.

2. They limit their debt. The family-controlled companies in the study had, on average, debt levels equal to 37% of their capital (compared to 47% for non-family firms). Why, because if something goes wrong, family businesses don’t want to risk giving their investors too much power.

3. They have lower staff turnover. Only 9% of the workforce (versus 11% at non-family firms) turned over annually. And family firms don’t rely on financial incentives. They focus on building a culture of commitment and purpose, avoid layoffs during downturns, promote from within, and spend far more on training than non-family firms.

4. Capital expenditures are tightly controlled. One owner-CEO said “We have a simple rule, we do not spend more than we earn.” Family businesses not only look at each project’s ROI, they compare projects – to meet their self-imposed budget. It costs them some opportunities but means they’re less exposed in bad times.

5. They diversify. 46% of family businesses in the study were highly diversified, while only 20% of publicly traded ones were. The reason – diversification has become a key way to protect family wealth as recessions have become deeper and more frequent.

6. But they do fewer, smaller, acquisitions. There are exceptions, for example if there’s structural change/disruption in their industry. But generally, family companies prefer organic growth and partnerships or joint ventures to acquisitions.

The simplicity of the 6 things makes them easy for any business owner to implement.

There were 7 things mentioned in the study but the seventh, that family-controlled companies generate more of their sales abroad, applies less to the companies we work with. So I can’t talk to it from personal experience.

By the way, the study’s conclusion is that CEOs of family-controlled firms invest with a longer time horizon in mind and manage their downside more than their upside, unlike most CEOs, who try to make their mark through outperformance.

All because their obligation to family makes them concentrate on what they can do now to benefit the next generation.

You can read the full study, which was conducted by The Boston Consulting Group, here.

If you enjoyed this post you’ll also enjoy 5 Tips To Improve Margins and the Bottom Line……

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Tags: acquisitions, business owners, capital exenditures, debt, diversification, family business, family obligations, finances, frugal, growth, investments, Jim Stewart, People, performance, ProfitPATH, resilience, sales abroad, strategy, successful, turnover
Posted in Forecasting, Leadership, People, Planning, Strategy Development, Strategy Execution | 1 Comment »

Putting The Horse Before The Cart – That’s Strategy!

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

According to Ken Favaro¹, we often confuse “some version of a vision, a mission, a purpose, a plan, or a set of goals for a strategy”. Develop a strategy first, then execute it

Why is that important?

While these 5 things (he calls them the ‘corporate 5’) play a part in the execution of a strategy they “do not give you” a strategy.

Surprised?

To quote Favaro, “If the corporate five are the cart and strategy is the horse, leaders who put the cart first often end up with no horse at all.”

Or in my words – you’ll get better results (higher profits, a better valuation) if you first develop a strategy and then execute it – not the other way around.

In the interest of full disclosure Favaro said that corporate executives are guilty of this type of confusion.

But, guess what, in our experience the owners of family businesses and privately-owned companies are just as guilty and do exactly the same thing.

Favaro says there are 5 more fundamental questions (the ‘strategic 5’) that have to be answered before worrying about visions, plans and goals:

• What business should we be in?
• How do we add value to our business?
• Who are the target customers?
• What is our value proposition for those target customers?
• What capabilities are essential for adding value and achieving differentiation?

There’s a reason this is way more than just interesting.

Roger Martin talks about² strategy being “an integrated set of 5 choices” which are made by answering 5 questions:

• What’s our winning aspiration (or the purpose of the business)?
• Where will we play (which cities/provinces/countries, for which end users)?
• How will we win (what is our value proposition or competitive advantage)?
• What capabilities must be in place?
• What management systems are required?

See any similarities?

Martin and Lafley also talk about what strategy isn’t. They say that many leaders (thus including entrepreneurs/business owners) approach strategy in ineffective ways, for example they define strategy as a vision or as a plan.

Again, see the similarities?

Yes, I am back on the topic of the many and incredible ways in which the word strategy has been, and still is, misused. And I love it when people agree with me. Particularly when their reputation (or at least their profile) is bigger than mine.

But why should anyone who makes a living in the real world care?

Because more business owners will make better profits and add more value to their companies if they get better at executing their strategy.

And the first step is to be clear about what strategy is.

¹ “How Leaders Mistake Execution for Strategy (and Why That Damages Both)”, Strategy + Business, 11 February 2013
² “Playing To Win”, A. G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin, Harvard Business Review Press, 2013, pages 3 – 15

If you enjoyed this post you’ll also enjoy Strategy Made Practical

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Tags: business, business owners, confusion, execution, goals, Jim Stewart, mission, plan, ProfitPATH, profits, strategy, value, vision
Posted in Leadership, Planning, Process, Strategy Development, Strategy Execution | No Comments »

Entrepreneurs Lack Empathy – Really?

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013

A new study reveals entrepreneurs, business owners lack empathy and analytical problem-solving skills. Successful Entrepreneurs Need To Have Empathy

Is this just telling us what we already know?

Most importantly, from my selfish point of view, how does this affect the way in which they approach strategy?

Apparently, there are 2 reasons why entrepreneurs are below the norm when it comes to analytical problem-solving. They’re motivated by, for example, potential future gains, money and new products or ideas. And they have a sense of urgency when it comes to making decisions.

So they don’t “have time” to collect and analyze data and, because people who tell them their ideas won’t work use numbers to do so, they think numbers just get in the way.

That easily translates into impatience with the strategy development process. Which may be OK in those cases where the business owner’s knowledge of an industry, or a gap in a market, gives them an almost intuitive sense of what to do to win.

However it could explain why some businesses have early successes and then begin to fail. There comes a point where figuring out what the industry, the market, the competitors are doing and the correct sales/marketing and operations/delivery response gets too complex to be done “on the fly”.

And I didn’t even touch on hiring the right skills, acquiring the necessary resources and building a healthy culture, etc. – or how to finance those activities.

Two other skills entrepreneurs lack are self-management and planning and organizing. Reading the post describing the research, the difference between the two blurred a little for me.

A couple of phrases did strike a chord though.

For example, “entrepreneurs typically have many projects underway at one time…. need assistance managing everyday tasks and should… delegate them to someone who has mastered this skill.” The Action Plans, which are developed at annual business planning sessions, play a key part in the successful execution of a strategy.

Making sure they’re completed requires consistent, regular follow up with the Champion. It also requires empathy, which is required to be understanding and supportive when things go wrong and deadlines slip. This helps get the Action Plans back on track.

Will knowing the extent to which entrepreneurs and business owners lack these 4 skills make it easier for those affected to accept solutions?

Based on my 16 years of experience working with business owners and entrepreneurs I’d have to give the typical consultants’ answer – yes and no.

Some individuals – the ones who realize they have to change in order for their companies to grow – get it. And some don’t.

But that’s human nature.

You can find the full blog post with the results of the study here.

If you enjoyed this post you’ll also enjoy Where Do The People Fit?

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Tags: action plan, analytical problem-solving, business owners, change, competitors, Culture, empathy, entrepreneurs, growth, industry, Jim Stewart, market, organizing, People, Planning, Process, ProfitPATH, self-management, strategy, Strategy Development, Strategy Execution, success
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Business Killer: 5 Reasons the Status Quo is Not Enough

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

This week’s guest is Dick Albu, the founder and president of Albu Consulting, a strategy management consulting firm focused on engaging and energizing leadership teams of middle market private and family business to formulate robust business strategies and follow through on execution of key strategic initiatives.

The Status quo is defined as the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep things the way they are. Isn’t that the easier way? Wouldn’t it be nice if we all could just keep things the way they are and not change?

Unfortunately, the world does not work that way. Competitors change tactics, customers change buyers, governments change policies, strikes stop production and occasionally natural disasters cause havoc. As a result, the status quo is not enough and organizations need to learn to adapt and change. This brings us to the opposite of status quo, or the anti-status quo. Literally it means to refuse to compromise with the status quo. To experience the anti-status quo is to make a conscious decision to reject staying the same for the good of the business.

Listed below are five reasons why businesses get stuck in the status quo. One thing is certain; these five business killers will stand in your way from making the changes you need to win in today’s business environment.

1. Lack of clear direction:
If people do not know or understand the organization’s strategy, they will not know how they can help. Make clear your strategy and goals to everyone in the organization. Show your employees how they can align their work to the strategy and they will become energized and engaged.

2. A focus only on planning and not on execution:
Many organizations spend more time and energy planning strategy and very little time translating those plans to specific action. Without investing time in strategy execution, the tendency of most organizations is to relapse to the status quo. Document strategic initiatives, and assign activities to specific employees with measurable outcomes to get the results you want.

3. Distaste for risk:
Unfortunately change often happens quickly when it becomes urgent. Don’t wait until you are in a difficult situation. Change needs to
happen well before the crisis occurs.

4. Excusing mediocre performance:
Do not excuse sub-par performance. Help people by establishing a system of open communication. Top performers will rise up when given the opportunity, while underperformers will become quite visible as well.

5. Reluctance to hold people accountable:
Without accountability, the status quo will creep in and smother any attempt at change. Explain to employees what is expected of them and establish a good reward system that is linked to expected results.

Change is often times difficult to accept. It can be frightening and threatening to some because of its uncertainty and the risks it might entail. As a result, the status quo can easily become more appealing to many. Yet it is more dangerous keeping things the way they are, because in today’s business environment the status quo is not enough.

What are your experiences dealing with the status quo and the challenges of driving change in your organization? What have you done to overcome these challenges?

Dick can be reached at 203-321-2147 or RAlbu@albuconsulting.com. For more information on Albu Consulting visit www.albuconsulting.com.

Tags: accountability, adapt, Albu Consulting, anti-status quo, business, business killers, change, Dick Albu, goals, Jim Stewart, People, Planning, policies, ProfitPATH, results, status quo, strategy, Strategy Execution, tactics
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The Difference Between A Strategy And A Plan

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

I’m back on one of my favourite topics – the many and incredible ways in which the word strategy is misused. Difference Between A Plan And A Strategy

Hang on a second, don’t tune out yet!

I’m not going to write a scholarly piece which will bore you to death.

I want to talk briefly about what I think is one of the worst mistakes – confusing strategy and planning. Roger Martin wrote a post for the HBR last month in which he dealt with this very topic.

I frequently hear business owners talk about the need to do “strategic planning” in order to create a “strategic plan”. Some talk – every year – about holding a “strategic planning meeting”.

But if you really are reinventing your strategy every year, isn’t that a bit of an indictment of both the strategy and the way it was developed?

Coming back to the meeting, the expectation is that the output from it will be a document, a plan. And that will contain a long list of initiatives (often referred to as strategies) with time frames for their completion.

Martin wonders how (and if) this “strategic plan” differs from a budget. I think that’s a great question. But I have a different one.

Isn’t this so called strategic planning meeting really an annual (business) planning meeting? That doesn’t make it any less important – because it still plays a key role in the execution of the company’s strategy.

And if that’s the case, shouldn’t we stop calling the output a “strategic” plan. And start calling it what it really is – the initiatives, which if completed in the next 12 months, will propel the company toward the achievement of its strategy.

Each initiative is accompanied by the Action Plans required to complete it. Each action plan has a champion who is accountable for it’s completion. The action plans have resources allocated to them. And they support, or even drive, the sales and margin forecast and expense budget.

Now let’s go back and talk about the company’s strategy for a moment.

Roger Martin puts it really well –

• “…we need to break free of this obsession with planning. Strategy is not planning…”

and then

• “…strategy is a singular thing; there is one strategy for a given business — not a set of strategies. It is one integrated set of choices….”

Choices about, for example, where and how a company will compete.

The strategy sets the context for the annual planning meeting. It should make it easy for the owner and her/his management team to decide which initiatives are relevant. (Assuming, of course, that they have already developed an effective strategy.)

I think the first step toward developing and executing business strategies that actually yield results is to stop misusing words.

If we call things by their real names we’ll stand a far better chance of understanding what they really are – or vice versa.

You can read Roger Martin blog post in full here.

If you enjoyed this post you’ll also enjoy Strategy – Don’t Think It, Experience It

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Tags: action plan, business owners, business plan, execution, initiatives, Jim Stewart, management, Planning, ProfitPATH, results, strategic plan, strategy, Strategy Development
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Being Told What To Do Isn’t Good For Business

Tuesday, March 19th, 2013

I do not believe that it’s a consultant’s place to tell a client what to do. Telling Clients How Things Should Be Done

I do believe that it’s our responsibility to give the business owners we work with the best possible advice we can.

And when I say give, I don’t mean that we just hand the advice to them by saying “Here’s what I think you should do….” or “Here’s what I would do…”

I believe one of the most effective ways to ‘provide’ advice is by using questions to help owners realize that there are, for example, possibilities they may not have considered; opportunities they may not have seen; and alternatives that may not be obvious.

Then we have to allow the owners to decide for themselves what to do with the ‘advice’.

Those of you who follow my posts know that I hold another belief to be very important. That is that rules are for the guidance of wise people and the blind obedience of fools.

So when, with respect to giving ‘advice’, do I break my own rule?

There are 3 situations which spring to mind.

First, if I see an owner, or his or her management team, about to do something that is likely to end in disaster.

I’ve accumulated almost as many grey hairs as I have experiences. I think it’s called ‘grey haired equity’. Some of mine has come from making brilliant moves but most of it has come from my own, or other people’s, mistakes and hard knocks.

It would be irresponsible to allow someone to repeat a move that is certain not to work.

Second, if a business owner asks directly for my opinion, or what I would do if I were in their shoes.

Even then I always ask “Are you sure you want my input?” before volunteering it. That’s because the owners we work with often already know what has to be done but don’t want to do it. So they’re hoping I’ll tell them to do something else, something that will, for example, not hurt people.

The third and final situation occurs when I lose my concentration and forget my own rule.

That happens most often when we’re facilitating – for example either a strategy development or business planning meeting. Particularly toward the end of the day when we’ve been juggling process, timing, making sure everyone is engaged and that no input is overlooked.

To avoid the third situation we have to be well prepared for every encounter with a client.

We have to think carefully about the objective, format and content of each interaction or activity we do with, or on behalf of, the companies we work with. That takes time.

I believe it’s time well spent because the alternative is that the owners we work with become used to us telling them what to do. That’s a form of dependency.

And we don’t do dependency. But that’s a topic for another post…

If you enjoyed this post you’ll also enjoy Why You Need A Consultant With Hands-On Experience

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Tags: advice, business, business owners, business planning, consultants, effectiveness, guidance, Jim Stewart, objectives, opportunities, preparation, ProfitPATH, Strategy Development
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The Single Biggest Thing A Business Needs To Grow

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

I’ve been working with business owners for almost 15 years. So, when someone asked me… The Big Question

“What’s the single biggest thing that you think separates companies which grow successfully from those which don’t?”

…I realized that I needed some time to think about it.

As I weighed one thing, then another, over the next few days, I came to the conclusion that the answer is NOT about having:

•   Plenty of cash
•   A price advantage
•   Top quality products and services
•   Products or services protected by patents
•   A broad customer base, not just 1 or 2 really big ones
•   A presence in several markets
•   Great people (which you will know, if you read this blog, I think is huge)
•   A winning strategy
•   A great culture.

Yes, you need all of those things – and others I haven’t mentioned. But they become worthless if one thing is missing.

The single biggest thing that I think separates companies which grow successfully from those which don’t IS…the business owner understands that he or she personally will have to change, and they are willing to make those changes.

At first I thought the answer was just the owner understanding that she or he needed to change.

Then I remembered that we’ve worked with entrepreneurs who have demonstrated that. But they have subsequently been unwilling to make the changes.

In some cases, what we perceived as unwillingness may have actually been inability to change – either because they couldn’t see the need or they lacked the skill to make the changes required.

The owner’s role remains constant – to provide the direction and to put the people, processes and other resources into place in order for the company to grow. However, as each revenue plateau is reached, the way in which they do that has to change in order for the company to successfully scale the next one.

They not only need to learn new things and hire people with the skills they lack, but they may also have to adapt their management/leadership style and even their behaviour.

And they have to do that while ensuring that the other challenges – for example, adapting to changes in the market or industry; funding growth; maintaining product/service quality; recruiting good people, fending off competitive action – are dealt with.

This is not easy. So it shouldn’t be surprising that some owners either choose not to do it or that some simply can’t.

I don’t believe that it’s for us, or anyone else, to judge a business owner by whether or not they do or do not grow their company. Just starting and building a business requires courage and the willingness to accept a level of risk that many people can’t, or won’t, take.

So that’s not my point.

It’s simply my opinion that the single biggest thing that separates companies that grow successfully from those that don’t is the owner’s understanding and willingness to change him or her self.

If you enjoyed this post you’ll also enjoy 3 Times When You May Need To Change Your Strategy

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Tags: adapting to change, business owners, challenges, direction, growth, industry, Jim Stewart, Leadership, learning, management, markets, People, processes, ProfitPATH, resources, skills, strategy, Strategy Execution
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Do You Have a Job or a Business?

Tuesday, February 19th, 2013

I don’t know who first asked that question, or when.

I do know that there are lots of business owners who either have never heard it or who have heard it but choose not to think about it.

How do I know? Because we meet them and, if you think about it, so do you. In fact you may even be one.

How do you recognize them? They fit one of 2 groups.

The first is the “solopreneur”. A solopreneur is someone who starts a business but never grows it beyond the point of having only 1 employee – themselves. (If I seem a little nervous it’s because, a few years ago, I came uncomfortably close to being one.)

Some people do it deliberately. They’ve often had successful careers in large corporations with large teams reporting to them. They reach a point where they’ve had enough of managing people and playing politics and want to get back to just doing the work they love.

Others do it by omission. They want the rewards of building a larger company but either won’t take the financial risks or they share some of the characteristics of people I’ll talk about next.

The second group is people who can’t get out of their own way. Their companies have grown, but nothing can happen in the business without them. For example, only they;

• Know the key contacts in every customer and supplier.
• Can fix things if a customer is unhappy.
• Understand how products are produced/services delivered.
• Can conduct interviews “properly” and offer jobs to new hires.

As a result they work as close to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as is humanly possible – for years.

And, despite what they tell you, they are not happy.

The irony is that, even when they collapse because of exhaustion, no one will buy their company because without them it doesn’t exist.

Andy Bailey, who is a reformed member of the second group, recently wrote an article about it. He describes the 4 steps he believes make the difference between building a business and having a job.

1. Define the company’s purpose (tip – begin with why the business was started) and hire people who buy into it. That will build a strong culture.
2. Replace the people with all the knowledge in their heads with systems and processes. This is what Michael Gerber talks about in “The E Myth”.
3. Create demand instead of always chasing sales. Consistently deliver quality products/services on time and build a reputation for the brand.
4. Create a strategic plan which produces results via prioritized action plans involving everyone.

These 4 steps are a neat précis of the advice in books like “Built To Sell” by John Warrilow. And they separate the owner from the company and a job from a business.

Why is that important? Because you can’t sell a job when you’re finished with it. But you can sell a company.

So which do you have – a job or a business?

If you enjoyed this post you’ll also enjoy 8 Things That Hinder Growth.

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Tags: action plan, brand, business, business owners, company, Culture, demand, Jim Stewart, job, People, processes, ProfitPATH, results, sales, solopreneur, strategic plan, strategy
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5 Great Planning Tips

Tuesday, February 5th, 2013

It’s always gratifying to hear a third party make exactly the same point you’ve been making – particularly if you’ve never met them.

It’s even better if they’ve been successful or have a higher profile than you do. That makes it satisfying as well.

By now you know where I’m going with this. Yes, that has happened to me a couple of times recently.

A few days ago I was reading a blog post which started “The key to effective leadership is to have a picture in your head and communicate that inspiration to your team…”

That is exactly what we get the business owners and management teams we work with to do. The first part of our process is to have them build a picture of what their company will look like in 3 years.

I want to share the rest of Jason Beans’ post because he gives really good, practical advice. But I differ from him on a couple of concepts so let me make those clear up front.

Jason talks about creating a plan, a document. We talk about planning, a process. He looks out 5 years. We stop at 3 years because I believe that’s as far into the future as you can make realistic, useful assumptions in our fast changing world.

That said, I think Jason’s 5 tips are great. So here they are:

1. Write or speak in the present tense. Instead of saying “In 3 years we will….” say “We are…” Sounds a little hokey but try it. You will be surprised at how good it makes you feel. And it’s a little like the visualization top class athletes do before they begin their game or competition.

2. Be specific about the outcome. We focus business owners and their teams on specific aspects of their company and tell them to describe them in as much detail as they would use for a picture of one of the happiest events of their lives. Jason has a nice twist. He suggests using analogies, e.g. “We are likened to……..the innovation of Google, the performance of a BMW and the security of a Volvo.”

3. Stay General on How. He provides a great lesson for entrepreneurs. You don’t have to tell your team how to turn the plan into results. They will do that for you. First of all, they will surprise you with the great ideas they come up with. And, secondly, while working out the “how” they will buy-in to the outcome and become committed to making the process successful.

4. Inspire. I mentioned we tell business owners and their teams to build a picture of the company in 3 years’ time. Before starting them off, we ask them close their eyes and picture one of the happiest times of their lives. We use this analogy for 2 reasons. We recall happy times in great detail. And “seeing” them again triggers strong emotion in us. We want that level of detail and that passion at work when they describe the company in 3 years. Jason describes other techniques for inspiring people. It doesn’t matter which you use. Inspiring people matters.

5. Be Bold. Set a lofty, yet attainable, target. Aim for leadership in your market or industry – don’t settle for being one of the herd. Despite my comment earlier, if a business owner gives his/her team a glimpse of his/her vision of the company in 10 or more years it can provide context for the planning exercise.

Jason finishes off by talking about communicating the plan. We believe good, clear, frequent communication is critical to turning the plan into results and, therefore, a vital part of the process.

If you want to read Jason’s full post you can find it at 5 Steps to Creating Your Best 5-Year Plan.

If you enjoyed this post you’ll also enjoy Have You Ever Seen A Business Plan That Worked?

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Tags: business owners, company, Jim Stewart, Leadership, management, People, plan, Planning, Process, ProfitPATH, results, vision
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