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Strategic Business Planning Articles The use of these articles are for our clients only. You must have permission from Sorrell Associates to use these articles in any format. We add articles to this page constantly. With over 4000 articles currently in our archive it will take some time to get them on this page. Keep checking back. Want to submit an article? Click Here
SP102 Aligning your strategic business plan with your financial plan Did you know that the average budget contains about 230 line items and takes close to six months to complete? While that may sound scary, the fact that most budgets aren't linked to their strategic business plans is even scarier. Without a direct connection between... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP103 The Top 10 Ways to Create a Business Plan One of the key challenges for any business is to remain focused and invest resources for maximum pay-off. It’s said that 80% of a business’s activity accounts for only 20% of total profits. In plain language, most of the work we do is unfocused, poorly designed, and ineffective. In today’s competitive world, no business, whether it’s an individual, professional, or a large manufacturing operation, can survive with that much lost time and wasted effort. A business plan can help, but most small business owners (and some managers/supervisors) hate doing them! In the spirit that any map is better than no map, here are my top ten keys to creating your own map to success: 1. Have a dream. This sounds simple and obvious, but... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP104 Business planning is conducted for three complementary purposes. As a tool to conduct strategic planning. Strategic planning within the context of a business plan is an effective way of organizing the many facets of strategic planning. Because of the holistic nature of business plans individual components of strategic planning are ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP105 Developing a good business plan is a complex, time-consuming undertaking. It's far too easy to make common errors during the plan writing process. Watch for these common errors when preparing your plan: 1. Belief that the plan has no flaws. Review the plan carefully to ensure that major errors in thinking do not exist. This entails a careful analysis of risk factors, business strategy, the target market, and marketing and sales strategy. Subtle flaws such as... Members can read this entire article by clicking here SP106 A Picture of Results When an artist sets out to create a painting, a sculpture or any type of art form, they start by having a vision of what the masterpiece will ultimately look like. They take the time to focus on the feeling the piece will call upon from those that gaze at the final results. They consider the tools, the colors, the materials necessary to bring their art to life and deliver meaning to the admirer. Their original thought of the piece might have to come to them in many ways. They transform these ideas and thoughts to the art piece via a vision on what the end product will look like. This same process of a vision of what the end result looks like applies not only to the artist but also to businesses and people that make up the business. At some point in time every business started with its owner having an idea and then putting together a vision and a plan to realize the objective. As the business market changed, the owner adjusted the plan to remain current and provide new ideas and products to the customer. The current business conditions are ever changing. Customer requirements are changing. Employee requirements are changing. Technology is changing. We are in the midst of an ever evolving ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP112 PLANNING TO WIN One of the most important steps in building a successful business is to have a well thought out business plan. A business plan provides a set of instructions that explain how to build your business and what the structure of the business is going to be. It also allows you to make important decisions based on your financial speculations before you have invested too much time or money to turn back. A business plan is also a means for you to... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP113 12 tips to polishing your business plan. 1. If you are using the plan to secure external financing, ensure that the market, management and product sections are strong. Most importantly, the market must be large enough to produce a strong three-five year growth rate in sales. Sales must be explosive (e.g. go from $1 million to $10 million in three-five years) 2. Be succinct and to the point if plan has an external audience. A caveat here: this largely depends on your audience. Investors who evaluate many business plans over the course of a year will prefer short (15-20 page), concise plans. Private equity investors or lenders may prefer longer plans with which to evaluate the business. 3. Be positive whenever possible, but avoid unsubstantiated statements. Use action-oriented words. Do not weaken your plan by using qualifiers such as: may, might, probably, maybe, perhaps, should, could. 4. Proceed Slowly; Gain Momentum. Many of the problems... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP114 Strategic Planning and Leadership. Are you focused on a successful future? Well-managed, competitive companies have accepted the leadership challenge of creating an effective strategic plan for their business and sharing it with everyone in the organization. In doing so, they position themselves to respond to opportunities, rather than react to market conditions and competitive pressures. Too many business people view weak market conditions or a poor economy as the reason for... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP115 WRITING A WINNING BUSINESS PLAN A good business plan can make a crucial difference between failure and success for any business. Here are some general rules to follow, pitfalls to avoid, and guidelines on structuring the business plan: · Do not exceed 30-40 pages of single-spaced text. · Make sure they are free of typos or grammatical errors. · The plan should identify the business's most profitable markets and promote the management team's knowledge and expertise. · The business should be looked at from a “bird’s eye” view. Among the mistakes to avoid are: Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP116 Keeping on Track Every month or so you should step out of the day to day of doing business and evaluate the course of your company's actions. Ask yourself these questions: Are we working towards our most important goals? Are we getting closer to or further away from our... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP117 Writing A Business Plan A comprehensive business plan should include a Title Page and the following 10 sections: 1. Executive Summary:
2. Company Description:
SP118 Word Count: 192 “Life In The Fast Lane” A fast company Competes on ideas. Netscape, for example, releases products on the Web before completion, thereby being first to market and engaging early users as co-creators. Competes on teamwork. The whole company must be built around it. Competes on knowledge and learning. Learning should be an everyday occurrence—part of how business is done. Competes on values-based leadership. Retired head of Perot Systems in Dallas, Mort Meyerson, defines leadership as “making sure the company knows and embodies what it stands for; recruiting, hiring, and developing the best talent; creating an environment where employees can do their best work; and being accessible to the whole organization for both business and personal issues.” Implements like crazy. An organization has to be relentless in... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP119 Word Count: 240 Strategic Planning Is Back
hen Jack Welch purged GE of strategic planners in 1983, it marked the passing from favor of a business practice that had once fascinated company leaders and made countless consultants rich. At that point, companies turned their attention to improving internal operations, and embraced new concepts such as TQM and reengineering. Companies shrank and shriveled as processes were streamlined. Ten years later, along comes C.K. Prahalad (co-author of Competing for the Future) who says that without continuous growth, companies can’t have continuous improvement. And, voila, an old idea-growth-is new again, and an old tool for accomplishing that growth-strategic planning-is suddenly hot again. However, as... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP120 Word Count: 391 10 Ways to Have Your Best Year Ever! We often think of New Year’s as the time to start fresh and make those famous resolutions. But anytime is the right time to take control of our lives, to choose how we will live. Real success in life is about balance, about choosing priorities, and then following a plan to focus on the things that are most important to us. The following suggestions can help. 1. Take time to decide what you really want this year. What would make it a great year, a fantastic year for you? Dream and scheme, and then dream bigger! And write it down, just for the fun of it. 2. Mark one day each month, just for you. Use ink, not pencil, and schedule an appointment with ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP121 & MRKTG109 Word Count: 643 Managing Your Change For A Better Investment
our Company goes to great lengths to create an image and product that is marketable within the business community. Once you have identified and perfected whatever product or service you are motivated by, the natural progression is to hire a team of professionals to assist in the distribution or application of your professional purpose. With the very best of intentions, you establish a deliberate and conceptual interview process filled with hurdles to minimize your risk and cast your spotlight on only the very best of applicants. Those lucky few, the anointed, are brought into the organization and unleashed for all that they bring to the table. Companies today are looking for brilliant ideas on how to grow their market share. Many think of market share in the same terms as profitability. Your people, the people that you or someone within your organization hired, can provide that "great idea". You hired them for a reason and they are the most important asset your company possesses. The challenge is, depending on which behavioral scientists you put the most trust in; individuals typically only contribute up to 25% of their mental capacity on an ongoing basis. Imagine the impact, both personally and professionally, should they produce even 55 or 60% in a given day. Would that not be a major enhancement for all involved! Given the pace of today's competitive ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP122 Word Count: 222 Benefits Of Planning The Benefits of planning are many. Planning helps to prioritize your activities. You already know that you will be wearing several “hats” and that the functions you’ll perform under each are different. It is easy to get bogged down in the seemingly urgent activities and overlook important, even critical ones. Planning helps you to see beyond the immediate issues and focus on the desired outcome. This will help to ensure that the day to day activities are in line with the long-range objectives and vision. It will help you to avoid getting involved in seemingly endless crises, and even prevent crisis-stimulated activities that seem to be important and necessary, but in fact many not be either. With this understanding, you are better able to focus your energies on getting where you want to go. A comprehensive plan is the most important tool you can utilize to build a successful business. s Do you have your plan ready for next year? s Does everyone in ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
L158 / TM116 / SP123 Word Count: 1184 Developing A High-Performance Culture? In the early 1960s, President John F. Kennedy stated that he wanted to send a man to the moon and bring him back safely by the end of the decade; a pretty lofty goal. Senator George Smathers from Florida agreed with the “lofty goal” part. So, before voting to secure funds for the initiative, he wanted to make sure he made the right decision. He visited Cape Canaveral to do a bit of detective work on his own. After much time, observation, questioning and exploration he still had not made a decision. At the end of the day he saw a worker cleaning up and asked what her job was. Her reply was simple, “I’m part of a team that’s going to send a man to the moon and bring him back safely by the end of the decade.” Decision made! This is an example of strategic alignment at its best. Everyone knows the organization’s charge, and all of the stars are in alignment (strategic intention: systems, processes, leadership, management, expectations, authority, responsibility, individual empowerment and supportive behavior). But what happens when the stars are misaligned; when the systems and departments are out of sync? What happens when a department exists for the good of itself and individuals behave selfishly rather than for the greater customer and organizational good? The simple fact is that the more an organization’s systems and processes are aligned with its strategic intention—and all of the employees support this alignment behaviorally—the greater the opportunity for success. In fact, if the plan is sound, it’s almost impossible to fail no matter how ambitious the organization or that plan is—even if that includes sending a man to the moon. Organizations are complex entities. Effective leadership calls for ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP124 Word Count: 362
Is Your Business On Shaky Ground? Let me be nosy, how did your business end up on shaky ground in the first place? Did you fail to plan? Did you fail to keep your plan up to date, drown the company in it and not live by it? Maybe you failed to spend the money you had wisely. Face it, somewhere along the line you made some bad decisions and now you have to live with the consequences. More money or different ways of paying it back is not the total answer. So why is it the first thing people think of is financial restructuring? Even if the guys with the green eyeshades think there’s something to be gained by keeping the company around they’re not going to keep you. Even if you get “kicked upstairs” for a while no one will be able to jack up the logo and slide in a new a company and therein lays the reason that just financial restructuring won’t work. A company grows in the path established by its leaders. If the leaders have brought the company to the brink of ruin, what do you think the people, policies and procedures look like? In order to survive,... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
L160 & SP125 Word Count: 411 Fueling Personal Accountability Maximize Results through Motivated People A major responsibility of leaders in organizations has always been to develop plans and lead their people in successful execution. Today’s business environment presents additional challenges to leaders in that change happens faster and more continuously than ever before! This means an increased need for effective and frequent planning, and a smaller margin of error for plans that fail to produce results. We all realize this is a given in today’s business environment. In addition, have you noticed that the people who make your plans work have also changed? For example, their interpretation of “following the leader” has taken a new direction. In our workplace today, ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP126 & B188 Word Count: 781 Sharpen Your Vision to Create a Competitive Edge If you can keep your head when all about you, Excerpt from “IF”, by Rudyard Kipling. Whether you are an entrepreneur, company executive, or employee, economic uncertainty may have you tied in knots. The remedy, TAKE CONTROL. When we feel powerless, we become victims. And if you’re reading this, you probably don’t care to play that role! Operating from positions of fear or scarcity takes a heavy toll on people and organizations. The media keeps the economy on everyone’s minds. Not only do we watch the Dow and S&P, we now keep tabs on markets around the world. There is uncertainty and volatility. Global markets are becoming more and more complex and ambiguity abounds. What are we to do? The answer: strategically determine how to outperform the competition. Throughout history there have always been winners, even in the direst of times. There is no better time than the present to Members can read this entire article by clicking here L163 & SP127 Word Count: 796 Align Your Organization for SUCCESS Successful organizations and leaders continually look for ways and areas to improve in order to create a competitive edge. Competing in today’s ever-changing, increasingly global marketplace, challenges organizations to make the best use of their resources. To meet this challenge, savvy leaders invest in developing the strategy, people and processes to most effectively meet their goals. Contrary to popular belief, organizations do not exist to make a profit. Organizations exist to develop loyal customers by providing valuable solutions and positive experiences. Money and profit is the reward for doing this well. The organizations expending the least amount of resources to achieve their goals have a distinct advantage. That advantage translates to increased revenues, customer loyalty and profit. What do these successful organizations have in common? Their leaders relentlessly pursue the maximum degree of organizational alignment. What Is Organizational Alignment? Your car wouldn’t get far if all the wheels pointed in different directions! Yet that’s how many organizations operate—the wheels (resources including time, employees, activities, etc.) aren’t aligned, so the vision is an unattainable destination. Experience shows that the interrelationships between processes and departments are key predictors of overall success. Alignment is when all ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here SP128 CS129 B191 Word Count: 807 Align Structure With Goals For Higher Performance Customer focus combined with proper alignment of vision with strategy, structure, people and processes is the best way to outperform and outlast your competition. When these critical components are in harmony, results are astounding. To sharpen your competitive edge, look at what keeps you from getting results you deserve. Whether you are a group of one or many, the way you structure your organization can make the critical difference between simply satisfied and overwhelmingly loyal customers. That significantly impacts revenue and profit. The best organizations deliberately make the most of their resources…in this case people. Winning companies define clear roles and responsibilities and their customers (internal and external) find them easy to work with. How about you? Does your structure make it easy, or difficult, to create loyal customers and get great results? You can have outstanding people and motivate them toward action, but if structure restricts innovation and higher levels of productivity, improvements are temporary at best. Structure can either help or hinder your ability to react to the changing needs of the customers you serve. You cannot change the world in which you do business, but you can create a structure to best respond to your own market. Definition Structure is different than culture and different than process. Structure is about roles and reporting relationships; process is about rules and procedures; and, culture is about attitudes and behavior. Culture influenced how your current structure evolved and will affect your ability to successfully implement structural changes. A great tool for evaluating and improving your structure is a ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
B196 Word Count: 695 The Faster YOU Grow, The Faster YOUR BUSINESS Will Grow What do you want for your business during the next twelve to twenty-four months? Increased Revenues…Greater Customer Retention…Better Margins???? Common objectives, but where do you start? Savvy business owners develop highly effective strategy, people and processes. The savviest also recognize the impact their own personal and professional achievement has on business results. Why? It’s been said that the only sustainable competitive advantage is the ability to learn faster than your competition. It’s also true that the leader sets the tone for the team. That means it’s critical to stay at the top of your game. Successful leaders regularly take a high level look at their business. A similar personal assessment is also good business practice. Think of it as a holistic approach to great results. Evaluate, develop and balance organizational, professional, and personal capabilities to get the competitive edge you need. Leading others and your business is only part of the picture. As a leader, the most important person you lead is YOU. Mastering SELF LEADERSHIP enables you to most effectively lead others. How much of your personal wealth is tied up in your business? If the answer is much, most or all, it’s even more critical to incorporate personal development into your strategy. YOU are the most critical ingredient in your personal and business success formula and you can’t afford to skimp on your own development. How to Begin—How do you become a better ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here SP129 Word Count: 337+202 Business Process Improvement For Better Results Business Process Improvement (BPI) is a structure which allows companies to know the process to getting better and more efficient results to make money. This is a business dream to always know the best method to increase your bottom line. When a business wants to increase revenue, a business process improvement strategy is very important to research. There are many companies who have tried this in the past and have succeeded. The basic elements in the business process improvement plan are: 1. Understand your company’s business current process- This is what you need to know before even thinking to change or modify any business process improvement plan that has already been implemented. Knowing what the current situation of your business is right now is very important for the success of the plan. If you don’t have an idea of what they are, then your planning will not succeed. Always know this before by looking into your company’s archives. This could be achieved very easily if you know where to look. 2. Road map- Having a plan of action, or “road map” to ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here SP130 Word Count: 175 Strategic Planning Success Strategic Planning is a process that determines
the future of the business and what resources will be needed to ensure success. The process involves determining what business opportunities exist, and what resources are available to capitalize on those
opportunities. Below are the critical elements of a successful strategic plan and how they all fit together. Vision Statement - Broad statement of end results Core Values - Guidelines for decisions and behaviors. s Employees s Customers s Suppliers s Community s Any ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here H178 & M151 Word Count: 510 The Two Main Keys to Hiring (and Managing) SuccessAll manner of strategies and theories are bantered about regarding the best ways in which to hire top talent, as well as the best ways to manage that talent once it’s on your team. However, if you were to boil all of those strategies down, you’d discover that there are two elements at the core of each one. (If they’re successful strategies, that is. There are plenty that are not.) Those two elements are engaging in effective communication and the setting of clear expectations. Actually, when you think about it, these elements are integral to success in just about any and every endeavor that includes human interaction . . . from the workplace to marriage. The fact that they cross such situational barriers is an indication of the importance that must be placed upon them when hiring and managing the best employees available. Hiring candidatesLet’s address the hiring process first, since it’s ... Members can read this entire article here SP131 Word Count: 690 Succession Planning Means Success Planning Before you read any further, I would like you to find a sheet of paper and something to write with. Are you ready? Now here is what I would like you to do. Read each of the three scenarios below and, on your sheet of paper, write down what you would do. Scenario One: It’s a Tuesday morning and you, the Vice President of Human Resources, just received a call that, on their way to an important industry conference, your company’s President and its Vice President of Operations have just been killed in a plane crash. Who is now in charge? What do you do? Scenario Two: As your company’s I.T. manager, you have taken great pride in hiring “the best of the best” and combined with an outstanding training program, have a staff that’s the envy of your industry. Your top project manager has just told you she is leaving the company. She has personally designed and managed the last three major I.T. projects by herself. Now what is going to happen? Scenario Three: As Plant Manager, you just had a call from your key foreman who has gone to ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP132 Word Count: 53 Strategic Planning Process The Four (4) stages of planning the future of your business 1) Understanding the current conditions inside as well as outside the company 2) Visualizing and identifying the ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP133 Word Count: 85 Things To Remember About Planning: Vision Values Decision making The foundation for business today is provided through ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here SP134-Are You And Your Company Prepared To Handle A Crisis Word Count: 649
Are You And Your Company Prepared To Handle A Crisis? If you are in a management position or are the CEO of a company then you know that you have to be prepared for any event that may happen. Crisis management is one of the duties that go along with your corporate job. Are you good under pressure? Are you ready to manage a crisis? How strong is your bench? This article will discuss ways to control the risks involved with crisis management and strengthening your bench. If you want to be sure that your company is able to withstand a crisis then you must see if your bench is strong enough. Amazingly there is a lack of executive talent out there and there is even less being seen for the future. Many CEO’s are worried that their corporation does not have the talent to see them into the next twenty plus years. Many baby boomers are reaching the retirement age and the new hires just do not seem to be up for the challenge. In fact, 11,500 people will turn 65 each day starting January 2011. How are you handling the lost of experience? If a company is to succeed in this global world where crisis seems to be the norm rather than the exception, all ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here SP135-H192-0411-Three Essential Steps To Take When Attempting To Blend Generations Word Count: 632
Three Essential Steps To Take When Attempting To Blend Generations. Every generation has a place in the workplace. All are able to get the job done, only in different ways. Each generation comes equipped with their own styles of work and though different, all styles are proven to be effective. So what does this mean when generations come together in the workplace? Where do they fit in? Can they fit together? Established Generations
3 Steps to a Successful Combination of Generations A common problem in the workplace is the inability generations have to understand and adapt to one another. Blending generations in the workplace Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP136-H191-0411-Identifying the Best Talent for Your Company Word Count: 421 Identifying the Best Talent for Your Company CEO’s are aware of the importance that an organization’s top talent holds in the overall success of their organizations. Given the current state of the economy, companies are becoming more and more reliant on procuring the types of leaders that will give them the edge over their competitors. It is prudent, therefore, to have a full understanding of what characteristics these employees or potential employees possess. In order to identify the best talent for your company, seek individuals who have not yet developed their full potential. It is best to choose intelligent employees who still have room to grow. They should be confident, self-starters whom you foresee being able to progress through the ranks of the company hierarchy at least two positions higher than their entry position with the company. Look for characteristics that are indicative of their abilities to take on broad, complex roles and to solve broad and complex problems, should they arise. It is important to be thorough in the screening process. View their track records with previous employers. Pay particular attention to the speed with which they achieved promotions and merit awards and ascertain what results they ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
SP137-B223-0411-Are you optimistic about business growth Word Count: 271 Are you optimistic about business growth? According to a recent business outlook survey conducted by CFOs, nearly 50% of CFO’s are more optimistic about the US economy than they were just last quarter. Many have plans to hire new workers, and develop new revenue streams. They are willing to spend more on capital expenditures, technology, & research-and-development and increase marketing and advertising spending. On average, CFOs project a 2% increase in full-time domestic employment over the next 12 months, the largest rise since 2006. That increase would represent 3 million jobs, and should bring U.S. unemployment below ... Members can read this entire article by clicking here
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