A company’s strategic plan is its vision for the future and a broad plan of how to meet these expectations. It will help to focus the company’s efforts and resources and align short term decisions with the long term goals.

The strategy provides a framework. It clarifies what the company is trying to achieve and the approach it intends to use to get there. However, it does not spell our real detail. This comes later.

The starting point is for the business owner to have a clear understanding of where they want to be in, say, 3 years time.

Do you want to double / triple your profitability?

Do you want to sell up and retire?

Are you happy to retain your current business / profit levels?

Do you want to keep the business going but reduce your day-to-day involvement?

What do you want for you / your family and what does that mean in terms of what you want from your business?

These are big questions but are very important before establishing a strategy to reach the desired end point.

Involve your key people. A strategic plan is great but in order to maximise the company’s chances of success then the key management team need to support the plan. If they have their say and the strategy is debated and agreed then the chances of success are increased dramatically. The business owner can’t do everything and harnessing the skills, knowledge and experience of the team will be a major plus point for the company and everyone concerned with it.

Once these aims are identified then a step-by-step strategy can be developed to get there.

Step 1- Where are we now – The Business Analysis Process.

Step 2- Where do you personally want to get to in 3 years time.

Step 3- Where do you; therefore, want your business to be in 3 years time.

Step 4- What should we focus on today in order to maximise the chances of moving towards the end goal.

Step 5- Plan by product / market sector and customer for year 1 and 2. Have a out-line plan for beyond this on the assumption that everything goes to plan.

Step 6- Break down the plan into monthly and quarterly targets and assign tasks with target completion dates.

From the start of the process, review and assess progress every quarter or sooner if extreme changes
in the company or market occur.

The strategy document is very important. Ideally the key objectives should be shared with all employees to instil confidence and further enhance every ones focus. Everyone will be involved in achieving the day-by-day, week-by-week goals that are targeted at the overall strategy so get them on-side. Clearly, if your plan is to sell up or retire, it is best to communicate the positives rather than causes for concern.

Business Analysis – Target end point – Plan the Strategy.