The power of planning

If you don’t get in the driving seat and determine the future, then someone else will (be it your competitors, your suppliers, or your customers).

"The best way to predict the future is to create it"

Peter Drucker

That’s the power of planning ahead in business – it allows you to create the future of your business. 

Planning ahead in business allows you to turn your dreams, and your ideas of what success looks like, into a strategy and action plan that will really move your business forward.  It allows you to run the business, instead of the business running you.

The process of simply defining what your goals are, documenting them and sharing them can have a profound impact on how much you achieve.  A study reveals that just writing down and sharing your goals makes you 21% more likely to achieve them.

Writing down and sharing your goals makes you
21% more likely to achieve them

Documenting your goals and targets gives you and your team focus, amid the whirlwind of day to day activity.  Clear and realistic targets also give you a definite benchmark to measure your results against, so at the end of the day you know whether you are winning or losing, and you know whether you are getting ahead or falling behind.

When you can see you are falling behind, you can then take corrective action (before it’s too late) to keep on track, which ultimately allows you to really drive the performance of your business forward.

If business planning is this important, how can you get started?  Here are some key points:

Map out your objectives Be sure of your overall goals for the next 3 years – start by mapping out your sales targets, and ensure you have a clear idea of what your Profit or Loss, Balance Sheet and cashflow will look like over the next 3 years

Break your overall goals downOnce your overall goals are established, get this split down into a month by month forecast (this is important - we find many businesses overlook this, and then get caught out with the peaks and troughs throughout the year)

Keep reviewingKeep reviewing your performance against the plan, so you know where you need to take action to stay on track

With years of experience in helping clients map out their future, we can work with you to clarify your goals, and formulate a clear plan for you, giving you inspiration and direction to help you maximise your growth potential.  Get in touch with us today.