NuOrder - Strategy & Planning

Strategy & Planning

Article: Best Business Planning Practices (December 2012)

What separates a weak business plan from a good plan? Or a good plan from a great one? As with any reliable roadmap, a powerful business plan clearly lays out a course and provides alternatives to follow should any roadblocks appear.

A business plan is an important tool for internal planning in any business and for garnering support from external sources. Use the business plan best practices here to create a solid plan for your business.

Build the plan around its audience

A business plan can be used for many purposes and should be created with its use and audience in mind. You might create a plan as a tactical rollout guide for a new product or market, as an annual strategic guide, as a tool to lure investors, or as a way to get your organization excited about the coming year. The way you’ll use the plan should shape its focus. A plan aimed at raising money needs to focus on the talent and experience of your team to boost investors’ confidence in your company. It should also be slickly produced, printed and packaged. A strategic guide for internal use, on the other hand, might focus more closely on the steps required to roll out a new product. Multiple versions of your plan may be required if you have more than one audience and purpose.

Focus on finances

A strong business plan demonstrates that there is a financial impact related to all strategies, ideas, and assumptions. In one way or another, every section of your plan needs a financial bent – How will marketing generate income? How will the competitive environment impact your ability to make money? What will production of a product cost and how will that impact profitability?

Be realistic in your enthusiasm

While it is natural for a business plan to reflect a belief that your offering or approach is superior to anything else on the market, remember to temper your zeal. In creating each section of the plan, ask yourself what a sceptic would be concerned about regarding your statements and assumptions. For example, if your plan concerns a new product introduction, ask yourself about the barriers to acceptance. Always return to the "why" – Why would customers switch allegiance to you? Why would companies outsource a service to you, etc? You can put a plan to the test by sharing a rough draft with someone you know who has a sceptical nature.

Segment whenever possible

No small business can be all things to all people. Focusing on specific market segments will improve the accuracy of your planning, since you will be able to build your financial assumptions around the specific needs of those segments. Don’t limit segmentation just to your marketing efforts – the habits and values of your target audience will likely influence everything from product development to pricing.

Produce carefully

Whether you are sharing a business plan with staff only or a discriminating outside resource, features such as charts that clearly illustrate a point, statistics that back up an assertion, or judiciously-placed graphics can increase the likelihood that your audience will be receptive to your message. Once your plan is complete, have it proofread by two different people to ensure that mistakes don’t undermine its effectiveness. Also, consider the appropriate way to package a plan. A plan for bankers, partners or investors should be printed on high quality paper and bound. You can cut some corners with an internal document, but be sure your document reflects the effort you put into it.

Revise, revise, revise

A business plan is a “living” document that requires periodic review and continual improvement. Your plan may be your company’s roadmap, but your business can quickly be thrown off course by market downturns, shifting buying habits, or even better-than-anticipated sales. Review your plan regularly to see if you’re on track and adjust budgets and priorities accordingly.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Complacency (April 2012)

"A feeling of contentment or self-satisfaction, especially when coupled with an unawareness of danger, trouble, or controversy".

"An instance of contented self-satisfaction".

How often have you heard one of your business clients utter the immortal words "Things were going so well - I didn't see the danger until it was too late!"? While having a feeling of satisfaction in a job well done is a positive outcome, that same feeling can be the ruin of a good business when overshadowed by short sightedness, arrogance and over confidence. The one critical characteristic that separates okay businesses from great businesses is their desire (at all costs) to avoid complacency creeping in to their operations.

Complacency comes in many disguises:

Thinking you are so far ahead of your competitors you can "take it easy" for awhile
Considering you know what your clients need better than they do
Ignoring the importance of clients (and staff) who refer new business
Believing you have enough experience, knowledge and/or skills
Disregarding high staff/client turnover and considering it someone else's problem
Assuming that "good enough" is going to be satisfactory to your clients

These are some of the signs of a business that is complacent about its success. Complacency can strike at any area in your business: your efficiency and productivity; the effectiveness of your procedures and systems; the quality of service you offer your clients. Some of the most common areas of complacency we see are in the leadership, knowledge and skills in a bsuiness. While complacency is defined as a "feeling", unlike being happy or angry, the damage to your business can be profound. Let's consider the impact of a complacent leader and complacent business:

"I know enough/I have sufficient skills to run this business" - people, businesses and markets change every day. If you are satisfied that you know enough, or have enough experience to effectively lead your business towards your vision, reconsider. Leaders who seek to continually build their knowledge and skills are far more effective in keeping abreast of important changes and making course corrections so benefit of their business. The day you stop learning is the day you stop leading
"We are far too good for our competitors" - that may be true today but what about tomorrow? If your business is complacent, it fails to understand that there is always going to be another business in the market seeking to overtake it and attract your clients
"Our service is good enough" - service can always be better. A Business that cast’s off complacency and adopt’s continuous improvement are those that have recognised how dangerous being satisfied with the "ways things are" can be
"Sure we have high staff turnover but that's just because staff can't hack the pace" - if you are complacent about staff turnover, you are failing to recognise that things are not all rosy in your business. Thinking it's your staff's problem is a certain recipe for eventual disaster.

Complacency is insidious and starts with something as simple as "oh - that's good enough". As the leader, you need to ensure that you continue to challenge the status quo to avoid complacency creeping in. Ask yourself: "How can we do better?"; "What ways can we improve our service?" and most importantly "What lessons did we learn when things went wrong?"

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Give Your Business Direction (February 2012)

Overview Having a clear business direction is the most powerful business improvement tool you can use. There are many clichés about planning and business direction:

“If you don’t know where you are going any road will do.”
“Poor Planning Produces Pathetically Poor Performance (modified from the military version)” to quote two."

As worn as these clichés are the fact is that they are, by and large, true. Without a clear business direction your business will not go anywhere. It may survive on enthusiasm and energy in the short term but in the longer term it will fail.

Some people say they are not planners and it is true some of us are better at planning a direction, setting goals and achieving them than others. But saying you are not good at it is just an excuse, an admission that you don’t enjoy the discipline the process brings to your business and even less the fact that you end up with something by which you and others can measure your performance.

Setting a clear business direction doesn’t have to be a complicated process – in fact the less complicated the better. In its simplest terms it is a matter of deciding where you want to be at some point in the future (“Where”); critically assessing your current situation (“Now”); and setting in place strategies to get you from where you are now to where you want to be (“How”). Add a time frame (“When”) and a means of measuring how well you are actually doing against what you thought you would do (“Measuring”) and you have it – a clear business direction.

Depending on the complexity and size of your business your business direction might cover an A4 sheet or it might be a more significant document. This is one situation where size really doesn’t count but - clarity is paramount. Like any good process there are a number of steps to setting business direction that will bring clarity to your thinking. The key steps are summarised below:

Step 1. - Where You Want to Be. What is Your Vision? Develop a vision for your business and personal life. A vision is a statement of where you want to be at some point in the future. What is it that you want you business to look like? What will it be doing? How well will it be doing it? What will it be providing for you? How will it feel to have the business where you want it. It is a view of an attractive future for you and your business. It is bold and exciting and importantly is in some way better that what exists now. Generally it is timeless and while it might change on the way it is something you are always aiming for. It is what you are aiming for in everything you do in business.

Step 2. – What Business are You In? Clearly define what business you are in. In doing this you are also defining what business you aren’t in. Define the purpose of your business. Work it out from a customers perspective – what do you need to provide to your customers not what they are going to get. This is often called the Mission of your business. In a military context it states the overall target and how and when the target will be achieved. In a business context it defines the business you are in, the core purpose of the business, your target markets and how you are going to operate. It incorporates the culture you want in your business, its philosophy. It defines how your business is different from others. It is supported by your core values or guiding principles.

Step 3. - Define Your Guiding Principles Your guiding principles are the core values by which you want to run your business. They are a benchmark on which you base a decision to proceed or not. If a core value is to be compromised in going down a particular track then you would make a decision not to proceed. Core values can include:

How you want to conduct you business
How you want to treat your customers
How you want to treat your staff
The quality of your products
Your ethics
How you want to treat the environment

Step 4. – Set Your Key Objectives This is a goal setting exercise. What are the specific goals you want to achieve? What do you want to achieve over the next 6 months, 1 year, 2 year, 5 years, 10 years? Make sure they are:

Specific – be clear and focussed on what you want to achieve
Measurable – how can you measure your progress?
Attainable – are the resources available or can be secured to enable you to do the job?
Realistic – be bold but be credible
Time framed – define when you want to achieve your goal

Step 5. Develop your Strategies For each goal set specific strategies that will achieve your goal in your timeframe. The more strategies you can implement the faster will be your growth. But remember growth needs to be balanced so make sure you are addressing each area of your business at the same time to keep all in balance.

Step 6. Do a Nike – Just Do It! There is no change without change. This means that all the planning in the world won’t create change unless you act.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a business evaluation and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Your Business and the Business Life Cycle (November 2011)

Your business goes through several life cycle stages, and different financial strategies are appropriate at each or the four distinct states.

Use the Business Life Cycle Checklist below to identify your company's current position in the business life cycle and better understand the issues that you'll be dealing with in each phase.

1. Startup/Emerging - The business is developing initial products, defining markets, and deciding what business structure to use and creating its first operational systems. Issues faced:

Preparing business plan/improving results
Improving/ managing cash flow
Accumulating funds for specific business needs
Selecting entity structure

2. Growth/Expansion - Sales are growing, more employees are needed, operational systems will soon be outgrown and increased revenues are bringing tax issues to the forefront. Issues faced:

Protecting investment in business
Protecting against business risks
Managing business taxes
Implementing retirement plans
Establishing programs to attract and retain employees

3. Mature/Prosperous - Growth has brought cash reserves that require investment decision, operational systems need to be further refined and the importance of keeping key employees increases. Issues faced:

Investing business cash reserves
Getting business valuation
Structuring benefits for owners
Protecting against impact of loss of key employees

4. Transition/Exit - It’s time to decide whether to keep the business in the family, diversity investment away from the business, sell or transfer the business or go in a new direction, and revitalize or rebuild. Issues faced:

Create buy/sell agreement
Implementing a business transition plan
Retaining business within the family
Selling at desired price
Finding next venture

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a business evaluation and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: With Every Business Milestone It Is Time To Review Your Business… (October 2011)

Three times in recent weeks we have been asked the question: "Is LinkedIn useful?". All three people had a service offering (lawyer, designer, facilitator) and were on LinkedIn, but had less than five connections. Our response in all three cases was: "Yes, but not until you have at least 150 connections. Reach that milestone then ask the question again".

We regularly meet with small startups businesses which aren't particularly profitable as yet, so they tend to talk about non-financial milestones they have achieved. Product Launched, First Sale, Press Release picked up, etc. when someone rolls out a milestone to us, the first question we ask is: "so what did you learn?". The response is normally silence... plus a half smiling, half nervous look that means "Is that a trick question?".

You see milestones, like too many other business concepts, have been dumbed down for consumption by the mass market. A milestone is generally perceived as something you can be proud of, a moment that you can reflect on and perhaps pause to take a breath.

Which is great, but it misses its true value.

When you plan any new activity (eg. your business plan), you make a number of assumptions. Milestones are the points on the timeline of that activity where you get to review your assumptions to see whether they were valid, or you need to change your plan. They are not just picked randomly to make you feel good... for instance:

On completion of a prototype, ask:

Did it take you as long to build as you estimated, or longer?
Did it cost you as much to build as you expected?
How will that affect your business plan, including production model and profitability?
Do you need to alter the attributes of the product?
Do you still have the same value proposition that you expected to have?

On first sale, ask:

Was the sale cycle as long as you expected?
Did you get the price you forecasted?
Did you get the quantity you forecasted?
Did your customer accept the value proposition?
Do you need to alter your plan?

On having to change your pricing, ask:

Is it a permanent change or temporary?
How will it affect your cash flow projections?
Do you need to adjust your fixed or variable costs to maintain your profitability?
Is it a new segment that the offering can be isolated to?

So milestones shouldn't be arbitrary at all. Go through your business plan and determine what the assumptions are and how you will test those assumptions. These are your milestones. Then make sure they are included in your management meetings or business review process.

Back to LinkedIn. Our rule of thumb is that around 5% of your network (the network you have mind share with) will generate opportunities for you in any year. Therefore, if you have 150 connections on LinkedIn, one new opportunity should come your way every second month.

The thing is, when you reach the milestone, you can test your assumptions. If it's wrong, you can readjust your plan. Maybe you need 250 Linkedin connections to generate an opportunity every second month or maybe you need only 60.

They're Milestones, not Millstones.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a business evaluation and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: With Every Business Milestone It Is Time To Review The Business (October 2009)

Three times in recent weeks we have been asked the question: "Is LinkedIn useful?". All three people had a service offering (lawyer, designer, facilitator) and were on LinkedIn, but had less than five connections. Our response in all three cases was: "Yes, but not until you have at least 120 connections. Reach that milestone then ask the question again".

Which is great, but it misses its true value.

They are not just picked randomly to make you feel good... for instance:

On completion of a prototype, ask:

Did it take you as long to build as you estimated, or longer?
Did it cost you as much to build as you expected?
How will that affect your business plan, including production model and profitability?
Do you need to alter the attributes of the product?
Do you still have the same value proposition that you expected to have?

On first sale, ask:

Was the sale cycle as long as you expected?
Did you get the price you forecasted?
Did you get the quantity you forecasted?
Did your customer accept the value proposition?
Do you need to alter your plan?

On having to change your pricing, ask:

Is it a permanent change or temporary?
How will it affect your cash flow projections?
Do you need to adjust your fixed or variable costs to maintain your profitability?
Is it a new segment that the offering can be isolated to?

Back to LinkedIn. Our rule of thumb is that around 5% of your network (the network you have mind share with) will generate opportunities for you in any year. Therefore, if you have 120 connections on LinkedIn, one new opportunity should come your way every second month.

They're Milestones, not Millstones.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a business evaluation and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Ride out the recession and take the business forward with hope (March 2009)

The benefits of sound business strategy are essential in the current business climate. If you have not already, this is the ideal time to review where the business is going and more importantly to work out how to get it there.

Lead the organisation through to better times
Adapt the business model to improve productivity
Leverage all the talent in the organisation
Manage re-organisations, restructuring and redundancies
Motivate and engage staff in the context of troubled market conditions
Appraise key competitors to secure competitive advantage
Take advantage of new markets and un-tapped potential

To find out more please ask us about our 'one day' introductory strategy sessions, where we can discuss the benefits of producing a brief but powerful strategic plan to make sure the business drives forward.

Strategy should be simple and to us that means:

Understanding what you sell
Who you sell it to, and
Why customers come to you rather than someone else

Some businesses thrive through a recession because they offer what the consumer wants. Your business needs to go beyond the current strategy.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a business evaluation and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Make Your Business Really Fly (July 2008)

When we first start working with clients they have a fair idea of where they want their business to be over the next few years, however there is a lack of clarity as to how each component drives the business.

There are 5 key components that need to be combined if you really want your business to fly and for your business to give you what you want:

1. Key Objective

What your business must achieve at the end of 2-3 years so it grows and prospers and provides you the business owner(s) with the lifestyle of your choice. If you do not have this clearly defined then your business might simply have you doing what it wants - and your business can make a very cruel master with a demand on more hours, more time away from you family and more personal cash.

Your key objectives should be exciting, specific and once achieved should give you a feeling of extreme accomplishment.

2. Killer Mission

The ongoing achievement of your mission will propel you toward the attainment of your key objectives. Most mission statements are 'feel happy' useless statements that achieve nothing for your business - let your mission statement be a map toward your goals (Key Objectives).
Your mission does not need to be seen by your clients and does not need to be on the wall in plain view of all ... it does need to be a strong statement of how you are going to get your goal, by when and by what methods you are going to achieve this. Remember where the word mission comes from - the armed forces - "we will take that hill by 0900 hours using extreme and deadly force so command can use that route for the supply of our troop in x region".

Management uses your mission to assess your businesses performance with regard to marketing, sales, operation, human resources and finance. If each area is focused on performance in line with your mission then your business will achieve its key objectives.

3. A-Class Clients Propel Your Business To New Heights

Most business owners expand their business without taking into account how their client base will affect their business and its ability to achieve their keyobjectives.

Clients can destroy your business if they are the wrong type. Imagine for a moment that you expand your business and you bring on more clients that are hard to deal with, always complain about what you do, expect the lowest price for the best service and are always pestering you with no real benefit = a D-Class client. Imagine doubling your business and all of them are D-Class clients ... lets face it, you would never want to show up at your business.

A-Class clients are the answer. You're A-Class clients will support you and your business in achieving your Key Objectives if you know who they are and how to find them.

4. Purpose Gives You Heart

A major reason behind employees not working the best they can or not working toward the achievement of the owner's Key Objectives is because they don't feel any heart in the business. The purpose of the business is either sterile, does not exist or does not inspire any emotion. As such the employee can only work for money and treat you like all the other businesses they have worked for - and let's face it; some of the businesses out there are not good.

5. Your Powerful Exit From Your Business

A statement from one of the biggest business brokers reported that 65% of all businesses listed for sale do not sell and either go broke or simply close the doors. Your exit from your business needs to be defined now in order for you to get the most from your business and to add to your life. Every exit strategy has a different requirement from how your business needs to be designed.

Some exit strategies will take more time than others and will deliver a greater return at the end of the day... the choice is yours, but you need to start now.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Steps To An Effective Competetive Analysis (June 2008)

For your small business to succeed, you need to know almost as much about your competitors as you do about your own company and customers. Unfortunately, many small business owners make the mistake of waiting until a competitor has opened up shop across the street and is cutting into profits to find out who and what they're up against.

A competitive analysis allows you to identify your competitors and evaluate their respective strengths and weaknesses. By knowing the actions of your competitors, you will have a better understanding of what products or services you should offer; how you can market them effectively; and how you can position your business.

Competitive analysis is an ongoing process. You should always be gathering information about your competitors. Look at their Web sites. Read their product literature and brochures. Get your hands on their products. See how they present themselves at trade shows. Read about them in your industry's trade publications. Talk to your customers to see how they feel about competitive products or services.

Steps to analyse your competitors:

Step 1: Identify your competition

Step 2: Analyse strengths and weaknesses

Step 3: Look at opportunities and threats

Step 4: Determine your position.

Step 1: Identify your competition

Every business has competitors, and you need to take the time to discern who your customers can approach to get a product or service that fills the same need as yours does. Even if your product or service is truly innovative, you need to look at what else your customers would purchase to accomplish this task. For example, you may be opening a Website that offers online Bingo. Your competition would be other Bingo sites, other Web gaming sites, the Bingo hall down the street, and any other businesses that are competing for the same leisure-time pounds.

Begin by looking at your primary competitors. These are the market leaders, the companies who currently dominate your market. They are probably the ones who you find yourself bumping up against in your search for new customers. If you're a florist, it would be other florists in your area. If you're an IT consulting business, it would be other IT consultants with the same specialty.

Next, look for your secondary and indirect competitors. These are the businesses who may not go head-to-head with you, but who are targeting the same general market. Sticking with the florist example, it might be a small local roses-only store, a national floral delivery service, or the flower/plant department of your local supermarket or discount store.

Finally, look at potential competitors. These are companies who might be moving into your market and who you need to prepare to compete against. For example, you might have an independent coffee shop; you will need to prepare to compete against national franchises/chains, even if they are not yet in your market.

Step 2: Analyse strengths and weaknesses

After you've figured out who your competitors are, determine their strengths and find out what their vulnerabilities are. Why do customers buy from them? Is it price? Value? Service? Convenience? Reputation? Focus as much on "perceived" strengths and weaknesses as you do on actual ones. This is because customer perception may actually be more important than reality.

It's a good idea to do this strengths/weaknesses analysis in table form. Write down the names of each of your competitors. Then set up columns listing every important category for your line of business (price, value, service, location, reputation, expertise, convenience, personnel, advertising/marketing, or whatever else is appropriate to your type of company). Once you have this table set, rate your competitors, and be sure to put in comments as to why you've given them that rating. You might even want to put strengths in red and weaknesses in blue, so you can tell at a glance where each competitor stands.

Step 3: Look at opportunities and threats

Strengths and weaknesses are often factors that are under a company's control. But when you're looking at your competition, you also need to examine how well prepared they are to deal with factors outside their control. These are called opportunities and threats.

Opportunities and threats fall into a wide range of categories. It might be technological developments, regulatory or legal action, economic factors, or even a possible new competitor. For example, a photo developing store needs to know how well its competitors are prepared to deal with the advent of digital photography. Or a company that sells over the Web should analyse how its competitors are prepared to deal with online security issues.

Again, an effective way to do this is to create a table listing your competitors and the outside factors that will impact your industry. You will then be able to tell how they can deal with opportunities and threats.

Step 4. Determine your position

Once you figure out what your competitors' strengths and weaknesses are, you need to determine where to position your company vis a vis the competition. Some of this may be obvious from the results of your analysis, but it also pays to take a hard look at how your business operates.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to create a strengths/weaknesses opportunities/threats analysis of your business. Rank your company in the same categories that you ranked your competitors. This will give you an even clearer picture of where your business fits in the competitive environment. It will also help you determine what areas you need to improve, and what characteristics of your business you should take advantage of to gain more customers.

The bottom line: look for ways to leverage your strengths and take advantage of your competitors' weaknesses.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Who Will help you in a rough spot? (May 2008)

Discover the proven methods that over 5,000 business owners have already used in their companies.

Through our ‘one-stop shop’ approach, we work closely with business owners, directors and managers by providing step by step solutions where we jointly get to implement specific business strategies to achieve business, financial and personal goals.

Simply, we help businesses improve and our goal is their success. To do this, the first step is to set clear goals and more importantly - to set an action plan and to implement strategies and systems to make it happen.

To reach true potential, all business owners rely on expert advise. A nuOrder consultant helps you leverage your current skills to improve your overall performance. The result? More wins, in the form of greater profits - for you and your business. How could your company benefit from a Business Consultant. Soend an hour with nuOrder to find out.

You'll develop strategies to work 'on' and not 'in' your business - giving you more TIME to spend with family/friends - or other businesses.
You'll transform your TEAM and attract great new employees to your company.
You''' work on achieving your MONEY gols faster and in higher numbers than you ever thought possible.
You'll create synergy in each department of your operation to leverage your overall results.

Fanatical About YOUR Business

At nuOrder we are fanatical about business and would love the opportunity to explain to you what we could do.

We invite you to look at the key areas of your business with us and explore ways that nuOrder can make a significant difference. Call us now, or drop an email to arrange a no obligation business evaluation meeting.

It will cost you nothing; however, by introducing you to the tools and techniques which we use to enhance performance, it could be the first step to transforming your business. We look forward to hearing from you.

"There is no question: either you take charge of change, or change will take charge of you"

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Setting Goals for Your Business (April 2008)

Goal-setting is crucial to the success of any business, but is particularly important for entrepreneurs who can become distracted without focus. Goals direct actions, give you something to aim for, and can serve as a yardstick for measuring your business' success.

The way you approach goal-setting will determine whether you are able to attain your goals. Most people agree that goals are important, but less than five percent of people write down goals or have action plans for attaining them. Fear is most often the culprit. People don't like to write goals down on paper (a crucial part of goal setting) because they are afraid to commit to them. If this is your problem, try to remember that a goal can be changed at any time after you write it down. Also keep in mind that goal-setting becomes easier the more times you undertake it. When you have set goals and attained them, the power of goal setting will compel you to set more.

If you avoid goal-setting, the tips and hints below should help.

Have short-term and long-term goals

You might want to set weekly goals, quarterly goals, annual goals, and even 3-year or 5-year goals. One way to generate short-term goals is to first consider your long-term goals. Is there a certain dollar amount you want to earn or a number of clients you need to sign up by a certain time? If nothing like that comes to mind immediately, take a few minutes and think about what professional goal you would like to attain. Once you have determined long-term goals, you can work backward. If your goal is to make £200,000 this year, you should make a list of what it would entail to make that money. If you encounter difficulty creating your list, ask peers or friends for help. When your list is complete, break those small steps down into goals.

Make your goals specific and measurable with a deadline

"Increase my sales" is a good goal, but it's so vague that it does not provide a means by which you can judge your success. Modify your goals by making them specific. All goals should be specific (Get new clients), measurable (Get three new clients), and have a time frame (Get three new clients by November).

Don't set yourself up for failure

Make sure your goals are attainable. If you aim too high, you're dooming yourself to defeat.

Don't be lazy

On the other hand, some entrepreneurs set goals that are too easily attained. If you tend in this direction, look for ways to challenge yourself. If you usually aim to add one new client every quarter, push yourself to shoot for two or three.

Be relevant

Goals should help you attain a specific aim. Look out for goals that are just going to keep you busy, but are not appropriate to the overall success of your business. If you don't believe your goals are worthwhile, you won't make the necessary effort to achieve them.

Be patient and persistent

It your system of setting goals does not seem to be working because you are not attaining much of what you write down, do not give up. Keep setting goals for several months and you will find that your goal setting skills improve.

Review your goals constantly

Keep your weekly or other short-term goals in plain view - by your desk, or next to your computer, for example - so you know what you need to attain. Look at your annual goals monthly to see if you're on track. If your business' focus changes, don't be afraid to alter your goals. Flexibility is a crucial component of goal-setting.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: The Pine Box Strategy (March 2008)

It is great fun building a business but for most of us there will come a time when we want to get out and do other things. It may be we are tired of what we have been doing; the work is getting too hard; the business needs to grow and we haven’t got the energy or capital; age is creeping up and it is time to hit the dirt tracks; or the young ones are wanting to take over and are giving us the nudge. The only sure thing is that at some point it will be time to go.

The one thing that most people in business have in common is that they will want to capitalise on the business they have built and will want to sell it at a good price. It sounds easy. Just put it on the market and wait until someone comes along that wants to buy it. And it can be that easy. But more often than not you will be selling into a competitive market and more often than not to informed buyers who do their sums well before they commit.

The way to go is to have a sound exit strategy planned well in advance so that your business will be able to be presented in its best light. It will have good financials showing a profitable business. It will have well documented systems in place that show prospective owners “how we do things around here” and which allow them to pick up the reins with the minimum business disruption. It will have plans for the future so a prospective buyer can see some upside that will allow them to grow their new business. It will show them that they can run it as a business and not as a job which locks them up for life.

Exit strategies don’t have to be rocket science. Someone who loves what they do (or maybe can’t see what else they can do) may decide they will stay “until they carry me out in a pine box”. That is a strategy. It isn’t a good one but it is pretty simple and easy to understand. The result will be that they will indeed carry you out in the pine box - and probably the business in a box beside you. Alternatively you might opt for a slightly more robust strategy. For example “By the time we are 60 we want to either offer the business to the kids or sell the business as a going concern. We want to have the business turning over £2,000,000 a year and generating a profit of £250,000 and we want systems in place that make the business capable of being run by staff without our active day to day involvement. If the children want the business we can offer terms but it must be capable of providing sufficient surplus to provide us with a comfortable retirement.”

Again the strategy isn’t complicated but it sets a goal that can be aimed at. It provides a clear statement that allows all the players to see where the game is heading and provides an opportunity for all the players to have input before the pine box arrives. And by the way, if the kids are starting to give you the nudge make sure you are all playing the same game, on the same paddock and kicking towards the same goals. Family succession can be one of the most difficult ways of exiting your business. So plan it well, talk a lot and keep it business-like but friendly.

Article: Refocusing your team (February 2008)

In their book, "Built To Last", James Collins and Jerry Porras identified a set of common rules of successful companies. In every successful company they analysed, Collins and Porras recognised that success was built on preserving the core ideology of the business (Vision, Purpose and Mission) and driving progress by setting big goals and establishing a clear and focused vision of the future.

When the vision becomes clouded in these companies, the core culture of the business becomes less stable and the reason for undertaking the big goals is lost.

The same can apply in your business. As the driver of change, if you lose focus, you can guarantee your team is going to struggle to maintain the pace of or enthusiasm for change. Momentum can slow and stall, confusion set in and morale begin to fall. Your transformation efforts can become just another unsuccessful attempt at change that simply adds to staff scepticism.

Whether it is transformation, a large job or a challenging situation, to avoid the fall in morale and motivation, it is essential to identify and quickly address the situation to refocus your team.

Get excited again about the future of your business and share your excitement with your team Identify where your transformation efforts went off at a tangent. Analyse the causes and triggers. Determine how you can avoid these in the future
Talk to your team. Draw your vision for your business again. Talk about the role the team will play in building the future business. In other words, you need to answer the WIIFM (what's in it for me?)
Discuss where you lost the path and how you intend to get back on track. Invite staff members' contributions to this discussion. It might be possible that focus has been diverted because of an issue you have not considered nor been aware of
Encourage your team to play a part to ensure the business remains focussed on the vision. Ask them all to challenge one another (and you) regularly with the question "How does this opportunity/job/decision contribute to our vision?"
Hold a mini strategic planning session with staff and focus on the goals and action plan for the next quarter. Ask your team members to take on responsibility for a task
Help staff stay focused by using team budgets, daily productivity reporting, progress reports and regular team meetings. The tools available to help you work ON your business are also helpful in keeping your team focused on the important matters
Discourage gossip and immediately correct any rumours that come to your attention. Allowing rumours to flourish will ensure your team remains unfocused

Firstly, refocus yourself. Go back to basics and revisit your vision, purpose, mission and goals. It is impossible to refocus your team if you are unclear about your vision and destination

As the captain, it is your responsibility to keep the plane on course in order to reach your destination. Course changes are inevitable whether it's because of bad weather, poor navigation or the whims of nature. If your team is clear on where you are heading, the issues being experienced and offered the opportunity to help, they will remain focused on the goals of the business.

Refocusing your team is about demonstrating strong leadership and clear, concise and timely communication.

Article: Best Business Planning Practices (January 2008)

A business plan is an important tool for internal planning in your small business and for garnering support from external sources. Use the business plan best practices here to create a solid plan for your business.

Build the plan around its audience

A business plan can be used for many purposes and should be created with its use and audience in mind. You might create a plan as a tactical rollout guide for a new product or market, as an annual strategic guide, as a tool to lure investors, or as a way to get your organization excited about the coming year. The way you’ll use the plan should shape its focus. A plan aimed at raising money needs to focus on the talent and experience of your team to boost investors’ confidence in your company. It should also be slickly produced, printed and packaged. A strategic guide for internal use, on the other hand, might focus more closely on the steps required to roll out a new product. Multiple versions of your plan may be required if you have more than one audience and purpose.

Focus on finances

A strong business plan demonstrates that there is a financial impact related to all strategies, ideas, and assumptions. In one way or another, every section of your plan needs a financial bent – How will marketing generate income? How will the competitive environment impact your ability to make money? What will production of a product cost and how will that impact profitability?

Be realistic in your enthusiasm

While it is natural for a business plan to reflect a belief that your offering or approach is superior to anything else on the market, remember to temper your zeal. In creating each section of the plan, ask yourself what a sceptic would be concerned about regarding your statements and assumptions. For example, if your plan concerns a new product introduction, ask yourself about the barriers to acceptance. Always return to the "why" – Why would customers switch allegiance to you? Why would companies outsource a service to you, etc? You can put a plan to the test by sharing a rough draft with someone you know who has a sceptical nature.

Segment whenever possible

No small business can be all things to all people. Focusing on specific market segments will improve the accuracy of your planning, since you will be able to build your financial assumptions around the specific needs of those segments. Don’t limit segmentation just to your marketing efforts – the habits and values of your target audience will likely influence everything from product development to pricing.

Produce carefully

Whether you are sharing a business plan with staff only or a discriminating outside resource, features such as charts that clearly illustrate a point, statistics that back up an assertion, or judiciously-placed graphics can increase the likelihood that your audience will be receptive to your message. Once your plan is complete, have it proofread by two different people to ensure that mistakes don’t undermine its effectiveness. Also, consider the appropriate way to package a plan. A plan for bankers, partners or investors should be printed on high quality paper and bound. You can cut some corners with an internal document, but be sure your document reflects the effort you put into it.

Revise, revise, revise

A business plan is a “living” document that requires periodic review and continual improvement. Your plan may be your company’s roadmap, but your business can quickly be thrown off course by market downturns, shifting buying habits, or even better-than-anticipated sales. Review your plan regularly to see if you’re on track and adjust budgets and priorities accordingly.

Article: Business Plan Howlers (December 2008)

Among the worst offences are:

Aggressive confidentiality clauses and an obsession with non-disclosure agreements. I find this sort of pushy legal stuff very off-putting, especially for start-ups. Often you are expected to sign up to very rigid terms without knowing anything about the proposition. In such circumstances, I just turn the deal down flat. If the entrepreneurs distrust me that much they ought to seek backing elsewhere. Would-be restaurateurs are often the worst offenders – would I really bother stealing their idea?

Overly technical documents. Business plans should be written in layman’s terms and avoid all jargon and endless acronyms. They should be readable and accessible, not obscure. Inventors can get too wrapped up in their subject – they forget that there are always thousands of projects seeking money. And promoters often use long-winded gobbledegook to disguise a fundamentally bad idea. If I can’t understand the deal, I don’t get involved.

Lack of focus. Plans that cover too much territory and companies that try to do too much at once don’t appeal to me. Successful concepts are usually simple, and successful entrepreneurs generally concentrate on a finite market and product range.

Preposterous valuations. Things that are far too expensive go straight into the bin. Such plans normally work back from a daft conclusion based on wild future projections or spurious comparisons. Instead, valuations should be based on sensible estimates of what investors would really pay. This means you miss the odd Facebook, but I can live with that.

Biographies. These should be honest and full. They are perhaps the single most important part of the entire proposal. I really want to know the owners and individuals who will make the thing happen. Vague or overly concise CVs make me suspicious. The résumés of the chief executive and finance director are the ones that matter: big name non-executives cannot compensate for weak executive managers who are actually running the business.

The numbers. This is the critical stuff. The funding requirement, the estimated returns, the cash flow projections: these must be attractive and sufficiently ambitious to be worthwhile. No one is going to put huge effort into a project that will never grow beyond one man and his dog. The figures should all be stated up front in an uncomplicated format. Do not bury them at the back of the pack.

The competition. All capable entrepreneurs know their competition well. If they say they have none, they are fooling themselves. A solid business plan has plenty of specifics about their rivals and why their particular proposition has a genuine competitive advantage.

Do not expect a perfect presentation. Every situation is flawed. If an investor is looking for an opportunity with no drawbacks, he will never invest in anything. I quite like deals with a known problem, because it can then be addressed and the price can be adjusted to compensate.

Huge appendices and too many spreadsheets. These might be necessary for loan applications but equity investors tend to decide based on a few important points. All the supportive evidence and background material can be supplied later if the proposal is of real interest. Don’t bury the hooks with padding.

Getting someone else to write it. It shows when advisers rather than principals write a plan. It lacks authenticity. By all means have experts assess your work – but do the first draft yourself.

Make sure it can be e-mailed. Do not rely on the post or present would-be backers with voluminous amounts of paper. Just get their e-mail addresses and send them the core presentation online. Catch their attention early and it may lead to something.

Unbelievable margins, profits and returns. Plans that suggest your company will quickly achieve operating margins of 35 per cent, returns on capital of 100 per cent and so on are not credible. Be realistic and conservative and you are more likely to be taken seriously.

Writing a business plan is an art. It should give a venture the best possible chance of securing finance, and it is worth taking great care over the task.