MOST business owners know they need a plan.
MANY of them believe they have a plan.
FEW have ever put a plan in writing.
At XM Performance we believe if it is not in writing, you don’t have a plan.
When we talk about business plans with our potential clients, the image in their minds is usually a 40-page document. They can’t see the connection with a Small Business Administration loan application, or a private equity pitch deck and what they need to do with and through their teams.
Did you know that the military has a five-paragraph operations order process that keeps everyone speaking the same language and allows for cross functional effectiveness? Every organization needs a planning process. Move from simple to complex. Here are 7 areas where business leaders must get ideas out of their heads, into writing, and communicated into the hearts and minds of their teams.
Vision: Tell the story of where you are going to be in December of 2019; tangibles and intangibles: what will you accomplish, how will it feel, what difference will you make?
Then align specific goals and basic plans in the following major areas for every business:
- Marketing
- Sales
- Operations
- People
- Finances
- Systems and Process
Get your team’s input and ideas. Then wrap it all up in a 1- or 2-page document, including who is responsible for what. Use this simple document throughout the year to guide decisions and drive Xtra Mile performance in 2019.
We would be glad to share a document with you that will help you put this together. Your best leaders and performers are asking for answers to these questions. If you don’t provide answers, the team will be minimally engaged. Or worse, they will go find someone who has the answers they need.