Strategic Planning often conjures up the thought of something big and daunting that we really should be doing every year, but somehow it just doesn’t happen. And, while yes, I do suggest that you ultimately do put aside time each year to do a day long comprehensive planning session, you don’t have to put off strategic planning entirely until you have the wherewithal to make it happen, easy access to the information you need to review, and the buy-in from your management team if you have one.
Do what you can
It’s important to do something rather than waiting to make it perfect.
If doing a full-fledged annual planning session with your team seems daunting right now, at least take an hour or two this month to get away to a quiet place and really think about where you want to take your business in the next few years. Considering that, what would make sense for where you can take it this year that would support that?
To keep you on track and focused, commit to set aside one hour every week to spend in some aspect of developing your plan and action steps you will take. This hour is the most important thing you can do for your business, so put it on your calendar as a recurring appointment and don’t let anything interfere with it. Turn your phone and email off during this hour. Let your family and team know what you are doing at this time every week and why it is important.
Make it simple
The easier you can make it, the more likely you are to do it, and succeed!
Write out your 3 to 5 Year Vision for your company in simple terms. Then drill down this Vision into a Plan for this year. What is your Revenue Goal? How does your Marketing Plan need to change to achieve it? What people do you need to achieve it? What system or infrastructure changes are needed to achieve it?
I suggest choosing no more than 2 to 3 goals to work on for the year. Break your goals down into quarterly initiatives if they will take longer than 3 months to achieve.
I love the simple structure laid out in the book Traction, by Gino Wickman. There are several free tools that you can download from the author’s website that are helpful, but the main one I suggest using is his Vision/Traction Organizer.
A budget that lays out your projected income and expenses for the year is also a helpful exercise to make sure your plan is financially feasible. I offer an easy to use, reasonably priced budget template.
Keep your focus
Keep your goals in front of you and you’ll be more likely to achieve them.
In the first step, I suggested setting aside small, regularly scheduled times for planning. In the second step I suggested writing down your plan using some simple tools. The third step is focus and persistence. Keep your goals and plans where you can see them. Review them at least weekly when you have your planning time. Set action steps for each week that will help you move toward your quarterly initiatives and check in with yourself to make sure you’ve accomplished the action step.
If you have trouble keeping your focus, get help. A member of your team, a colleague in your industry, a Mastermind group or a business coach can all help you to keep moving forward.
There are many books, tools and strategies for success out there that you can tap into. Ultimately, you are the most important factor in your success. One of the simplest things you can do to ensure success is to distill your goal for this year down to one specific sentence that describes clearly what you want to achieve, and then read it every morning and every night to keep your focus on it.
Here’s to your success in 2020!
