Preparing For Success

You’ve just survived another hectic week. It seems that every time you turned around, there was another question to answer, crisis to attend to, an emergency task to be dealt with, or another competitor entering the marketplace. Welcome to planet Business; not just the world of small business but of all business!

As you reflect on your past week and years in business, you begin to see some similarities and patterns, and recognize that many weeks were just as demanding. You ask yourself if there is any way to break out of the cycle. How can I gain control of my business, rather than the business controlling me? With strategic planning you can take back control of your life and your business. Become proactive in all your business practices, instead of being reactive to business situations and problems. Start by taking your strategic planning team away from the office. By the way, your team should consist of the "thinkers and doers" in each division of your company, not just upper management. Strategic planning is best done in a place that promotes thinking and is away from all of the day-to-day distractions. To start the strategic planning process you need to become:

• Focused

• Organized

• Innovative

• A good planner

• A good listener

• Visionary in your thinking

• Resourceful

• A calculated risk taker

Regardless of size, longevity or success level, a company should periodically take time to reevaluate its operations. Only by objectively reviewing your operations can you either reaffirm that your current courses of action are correct or identify areas or issues that require fine tuning or corrective action.

WHAT IS STRATEGIC PLANNING? A strategic plan is a written document of your direction for your company — your vision of its future position and value. It is a means for planning future growth and profitability. It is key to the overall management process.

Some people believe that strategic planning is a tool for big business only. On the contrary, strategic planning is especially important for the little companies that as small businesses are extremely vulnerable to the smallest changes in the marketplace. Changes in customers, new moves by competitors or changes in the overall business environment can directly impact your company and cash flow instantaneously. Negative impacts on your company, if not anticipated and adjusted for, can force you to close your doors. That’s exactly why you need to plan for your future. You need to anticipate what the future holds and adjust your thinking and actions to compensate for any potential negative impacts.

The goal of the strategic planning process is to help you attract more and better customers. Through an increased customer base, composed of more profitable customers, you will be able to grow your business.

• A specific and written document of your vision for the company. The plan should address:

— Customers

— Competitors

— Suppliers

— Investors

— Employees

— Succession issues

— Operations

— Mergers and acquisitions

— Ancillary services

— Strategic alliances/partnerships

• A means for developing commitment among leadership and employees, and others associated with your business.

• A success mechanism via a framework of strategic thinking and vision that guides all other decisions in the firm.

• Wishful thinking

• Created only by the owner of the business and the top manager

• Secretive

• Commitment by the business owner and

management team

• Communication to all

• Buy-in from all co-workers

• Honest evaluation of the current position and history of the business

COMMITMENT. Strategic planning will take commitment. The motivation to dedicate the time and effort must come from you. If you want your company to be all it can be, strategic planning will help you accomplish that. It is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing process. Therefore, you will make choices at a point in time based on the best information available. That doesn’t mean that alternate options are rejected ad infinitum. If you find that conditions change or new information becomes available, you reevaluate and move forward again. The strategic planning process is about progress and change. Progress sometimes involves two steps forward and one step back. There is nothing wrong with that. Remember, strategic planning builds a vision of the future. A vision of what you want your company to be. If you believe you are too small for strategic planning and approach business in that manner, in all like-lihood, you will remain small.

All business activities involve risk. Strategic planning is no exception. The risk, though, is a calculated one, and, as such, is minimized. Your decisions are based on knowledge, not assumptions or intuition. If you can afford to stay where you are, do so. If not, start the strategic planning process today…hopefully it’s not too late.

The author is director of marketing and sales for LandCare USA, Houston, Texas.