The more I look around, the more I see no plans.
Most business people understand (on a purely logical level) the importance of planning. If you talk to them and discuss the benefits of planning from achieving goals, staying focused and all that, they will wholeheartedly agree with you.
So, what is it that keeps most (not many but most) small businesses toward reaping the benefits of a solid business plan?
The answer is riddle-like: it is, well, planning.
And what is the first step to planning? Setting an objective.
Seneca, whose wisdom won him the trust of emperors and senators alike, in ancient Rome, once said: "Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind."
Most small businesses don't have their sites on any objective. They really exist, rather than grow. They strive, instead of thriving.
Years of "doing it the same way" has resulted in a two-headed monster of hum-drum whose aim is to simply survive: its final objective is to make it to the end of the day, or week, or quarter, and marvel at how well it has grown or, in the sadder cases, how much it has lost.
Words like post-mortem, return on investment, gap coverage, and critical success factors are never uttered, when they should be part of the staple diet of any small business.
Leadership expert Paul J. Meyer talked about plans as means of crystallizing one's goals.
There are three easy steps to organic growth:
1. Set an objective - don't run into analysis-paralysis, here. Just set a goal. Make it challenging, but not impossible. Don't worry about odds of achievement and variables. Just set the goal.
2. Set course - make a plan. Now is the time to look at variables and possible roadblocks. Your plan must have timelines and measurable deliverables. A well-laid plan should also include who is in charge of what.
3. Measure your results. Don't wait until the end of the plan to find out if you won or lost. Set intermediate measurement points and objectives, so you can benchmark your results often and take corrective measure, if necessary.
4. Rinse and repeat. Along the way, you will find out what works and what doesn't. Make note of that, so you can repeat what works and eliminate what doesn't.
Any good plan requires a basic set of traits, without which your success will be severely limited.
1. The ability to dream big. If you picture it, you can achieve it, so the ability to visualize what could be is paramount.
2. The ability to play like you mean it. If you have to fund your plan (with time, money or other resources) make sure that you have those resources available.
3. Tenacity. The draw of everyday pressure will beckon at every turn. Keep your eyes on the prize and don't let go until you've reached your goal. Persist, no matter what. You will encounter hurdles, and at times even failure. Even then, persist.
4. Discipline. Don't take that first step unless you are committed to taking the last. Respect yourself and your goals.
5. Support. Sometimes it is just moral; other times it is more practical. Either way, make sure you understand what you need and make it available.
6. The ability to shift your approach, and think of your objective as a purpose, not a dream.
I want to leave you with one final phrase, by writer Robert Heinlein -
"In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it."
When you get up, tomorrow morning make sure hope you have your goal clear in your mind, your path to it clear in your heart, and your desire to reach it, strong in your limbs.
Now go get 'em!
Most business people understand (on a purely logical level) the importance of planning. If you talk to them and discuss the benefits of planning from achieving goals, staying focused and all that, they will wholeheartedly agree with you.
So, what is it that keeps most (not many but most) small businesses toward reaping the benefits of a solid business plan?
The answer is riddle-like: it is, well, planning.
And what is the first step to planning? Setting an objective.
Seneca, whose wisdom won him the trust of emperors and senators alike, in ancient Rome, once said: "Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind."
Most small businesses don't have their sites on any objective. They really exist, rather than grow. They strive, instead of thriving.
Years of "doing it the same way" has resulted in a two-headed monster of hum-drum whose aim is to simply survive: its final objective is to make it to the end of the day, or week, or quarter, and marvel at how well it has grown or, in the sadder cases, how much it has lost.
Words like post-mortem, return on investment, gap coverage, and critical success factors are never uttered, when they should be part of the staple diet of any small business.
Leadership expert Paul J. Meyer talked about plans as means of crystallizing one's goals.
There are three easy steps to organic growth:
1. Set an objective - don't run into analysis-paralysis, here. Just set a goal. Make it challenging, but not impossible. Don't worry about odds of achievement and variables. Just set the goal.
2. Set course - make a plan. Now is the time to look at variables and possible roadblocks. Your plan must have timelines and measurable deliverables. A well-laid plan should also include who is in charge of what.
3. Measure your results. Don't wait until the end of the plan to find out if you won or lost. Set intermediate measurement points and objectives, so you can benchmark your results often and take corrective measure, if necessary.
4. Rinse and repeat. Along the way, you will find out what works and what doesn't. Make note of that, so you can repeat what works and eliminate what doesn't.
Any good plan requires a basic set of traits, without which your success will be severely limited.
1. The ability to dream big. If you picture it, you can achieve it, so the ability to visualize what could be is paramount.
2. The ability to play like you mean it. If you have to fund your plan (with time, money or other resources) make sure that you have those resources available.
3. Tenacity. The draw of everyday pressure will beckon at every turn. Keep your eyes on the prize and don't let go until you've reached your goal. Persist, no matter what. You will encounter hurdles, and at times even failure. Even then, persist.
4. Discipline. Don't take that first step unless you are committed to taking the last. Respect yourself and your goals.
5. Support. Sometimes it is just moral; other times it is more practical. Either way, make sure you understand what you need and make it available.
6. The ability to shift your approach, and think of your objective as a purpose, not a dream.
I want to leave you with one final phrase, by writer Robert Heinlein -
"In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it."
When you get up, tomorrow morning make sure hope you have your goal clear in your mind, your path to it clear in your heart, and your desire to reach it, strong in your limbs.
Now go get 'em!
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Very inspirational!
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