Does Your Business Have A Plan?

One of the key ingredients to business success is the existence of a well thought out and structured plan. This is relevant no matter what the size of the business. Surprisingly, it is one aspect that is often overlooked leaving success or failure very much to chance.

One of the initial benefits of planning is that it creates focus among all of the key players to ensure that stakeholders are working towards the same objectives. This creates focus and efficiency. The process also helps create value by unearthing opportunities that may have otherwise remained hidden other than for the collaborative discussion that is involved in the planning process.

Not all aspects to creating a plan are financial. Financial goals such as cash flows, capital expenditure budgets and financial budgets are all important, but just as essential is the activity of reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the business together with any opportunities or threats that the business may face. What about your brand, your customers, products and staff? What is the business planning to do across this spectrum and how will you know if you have succeeded?

Remember though that financial and non-financial areas of the plan are very much interlinked. Decisions in one area will invariably affect others thus in many respects the final product is a balancing act of competing interests. This process does however help us understand these inter-relationships that exist within our business environment.

Finally, remember that your business plan is a living document. It needs to be revisited on a regular basis to ensure that it is adjusted as circumstances change ensuring that you will always be giving your business the greatest possibility of success.