Curt Fowler | Fowler & Company | Fowler, Holley, Rambo & Stalvey
A business plan is an educated guess at how your business will perform next year. A strategic plan is the path your business will take to arrive at a destination that you have chosen.
A business plan is a continuation of what you have been doing. It will likely yield very similar results. A strategic plan takes you somewhere you have chosen to go. If you’d like to create a quick strategic plan for your organization, ask these three questions.
Pillar 1 – Where Are You Now?
This not as simple as geographic location, but includes a status check on every part of your organization. Your people, your customers, your leadership, the condition of your physical assets and your financials all play a part in determining where you are at today. Outside of your organization, you must look at your customers, competitors and changes affecting your industry. Use the acronym PESTLE to ensure you hit all the major points of an environmental scan. PESTLE stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental.
This step must be undertaken with brutal honesty for your plan to succeed. As a leader you must encourage your people to get all the bad news out at this stage of planning.
Pillar 2 – Where Are You Going?
This is your vision. This is the specific, measurable, time driven destination for your organization. Do not create a vague vision that doesn’t allow your team to measure their progress. Having a vague vision is like someone putting on a road race and forgetting to set up the finish line! We run races to celebrate at the finish. The same goes for organizations. You must be looking forward to a great celebration at the end of this journey to keep everyone interested.
Pillar 3 – How Will You Get There?
This is the strategy part of your plan. Based on your critical assessment of where you are today and your complete vision of your future destination how will your organization get to your inspiring destination? What obstacles will get in the way? How will your competitors adapt and change based on your strategy?
How will your team know if you are winning as you pursue the vision? I have never seen a football team that was not 100% clear about who was winning the game. The scoreboard told them the answer. Why don’t more organizations use scoreboards to let their teams know if they are winning or losing? Don’t keep your team in the dark. We all perform better when we can gauge our own success.
Start writing down your answers to these questions and you’ll be well on your way to creating a great plan.
Have a business growth topic or question you’d like me to cover? Send suggestions to cfowler@valuesdrivenresults.com or use our contact form by clicking here.
Curt Fowler is President of Fowler & Company and Director at Fowler, Holley, Rambo & Stalvey . He is dedicated to helping leaders create and achieve a compelling vision for their organization. He is a syndicated business writer, keynote speaker and has an MBA in Strategy and Entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School. He is also a CPA and a pretty good guy as defined by his wife and four children.
