Philip Walcoff - "The Fast Forward MBA in Business Planning for ...

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Philip Walcoff - "The Fast Forward MBA in Business Planning for Growth"Page 153sion prepared to either agree with your approach, make some minor suggestions for change, or proposesome substantive changes to the strategy.As an introduction to your strategy presentation, I suggest you provide some background on businessplanning. Use the material in Chapter 1 as a guide. Share with them that the mission statement iscreated to respond to the five questions posed in Chapter 7—what business you're in, the benefits ofyour products and services, what distinguishes you from your competition, your major marketingstrategies, and what you're committed to. Mention that the five-year goals stem directly from themission statement. You might also suggest some reading prior to the planning session. Refer them tothis book as well as to others referenced herein.Gather the IssuesYou or someone you designate (perhaps a consultant) should hold one-on-one meetings with allplanning participants before the session to gather a consensus of the major issues standing in the way ofthe company successfully implementing its business plan. Group these issues into the nine categoriesdescribed in Chapter 3. The first activity in the planning session should be to share these issues with theparticipants. Responses to these issues will be incorporated during the later development of the tacticalportion of the plan—the annual objectives and action plan.Get OrganizedGo into the planning session with an up-to-date organization chart so all team members know what theirrole is in the company. It is critical that every player knows his or her position. If there are holes in theinfrastructure, name an acting person or leave the position vacant, acknowledging that it is a position tobe filled in the future.Ensure Presession AssignmentsBefore the session, you should stress the importance of the meeting to all participants. What meetingcould be more important than this? Youfile:///C|/Documents and Settings/gasanova/Local Setti...orward_MBA_in_Business_Planning_for_Growth/e-book.html (166 of 219)16.02.2005 13:54:23
Philip Walcoff - "The Fast Forward MBA in Business Planning for Growth"Page 154and your management team are planning the future of the company. This meeting is also an excellentopportunity for team building. If you opt for a two-day session, the social activities (meals, cocktailparty, golf or tennis) that make up this event should support this team orientation.To encourage active participation during the planning session, discuss the agenda with the participantsbefore the meeting. Make sure each participant understands the planning process, the objectives of thesession, the fact that you desire feedback on the strategy you presented earlier, and the fact that they areexpected to sign up to champion several objectives in support of the plan's implementation. In thisregard, I suggest you ask each participant to come to the session prepared to agree with, critique, orexpand the strategy (vision, mission statement, and five-year goals). In addition, have them come to thesession with annual objectives they are prepared to champion in support of the strategy you havepresented.Planning Session AgendaThe agenda for the planning session follows the same business-planning process pictured in Figure 6.1—vision statement, mission statement, five-year goals, annual objectives, and action plan. A suggestedone-day agenda with time allocations is presented in Figure 11.1.A discussion of each agenda item follows.Introduction to the SessionWelcome the participants and let them know the importance of the planning activity to all concerned.Tell them why they are there and what you would like to get out of the session. Needless to say, the realobjective is to have the group jointly develop the organization's business plan and have them all reallybuy into it by the end of the day. Let them know you are seeking their active participation and that anyidea is worthy of being presented—but not all ideas will be accepted. In introducing the session, keep toyour 15-minute schedule.file:///C|/Documents and Settings/gasanova/Local Setti...orward_MBA_in_Business_Planning_for_Growth/e-book.html (167 of 219)16.02.2005 13:54:23
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