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"At this point it's important to distinguish strategy from tactics. Webster defines strategy and tactics asfollows:strategy n. [Fr., stratégie . . .] a stratagem or artful means to some end . . .tactics n. [Gr., taktika . . .] any methods used to gain an end . . . 10In terms of business planning, I view strategy as a road map and tactics as the vehicle to implement thestrategy. I also view strategy as taking place in the long-term, whereas tactics is more a short-termundertaking. With these definitions in mind, strategic plans are just the road maps without the tactics.Other Types of Plans Used in BusinessOther types of business plans are used in the corporate domain, including manufacturing plans,financial plans, staffing plans, facilities plans, communications plans, and marketing plans. These typesof plans are typically short-termed and necessarily are focused on a particular segment of the company'soperation. I don't diminish the importance of these types of plans, but they do not address the broadissues of successfully growing the company and will not be further addressed here.Page 11Why Business Plans FailAs discussed earlier, the majority of those companies that develop plans fail to implement them. Intaking on the business-planning process it is important to understand the four most common reasons forthis failure:1. The plan doesn't account for roadblocks. Every company, including yours, has its set of issues thatare significant roadblocks to successfully implementing a business plan. Without a doubt, these issuesimpede your business' growth and success. These roadblocks or issues generally appear in nine majorarenas:• Ineffective marketing and sales to sustain and grow the company• Personnel and compensation problems, affecting the hiring and retaining of employees• Ineffective communications up, down, and across the line, resulting in inefficiency and astressful work environment• Lack of sufficient systems and processes to support effective operations of the companyfile:///C|/Documents and Settings/gasanova/Local Settin...Forward_MBA_in_Business_Planning_for_Growth/e-book.html (26 of 219)16.02.2005 13:54:23
Philip Walcoff - "The Fast Forward MBA in Business Planning for Growth"• Problems in the management and operations of the company, affecting the future health ofthe business and its employees• Cultural problems, affecting every element of the company• Poor planning or ineffective plan implementation• Insufficient resources, including staff, space, equipment, and other facilities• Problems dealing with the company's finances and administrationThese issues, which will be discussed more thoroughly in Part 2, demand serious attention and must beaddressed in your business plan in order to remove the barriers to its successful implementation.Defining and dealing with these issues will allow you to get on with growing your company, making itmore profitable, and creating a workplace that is more enjoyable for you and your employees.Page 122. The plan is too limited in scope. As discussed earlier, the classical business plan is focused on raisingmoney and does not adequately address strategies and tactics for growing a company. On the otherhand, strategic plans typically focus on marketing and sales strategies to the exclusion of otherelements of the company. These plans lack the necessary tactics for successful implementation. Part 3presents a format to develop your business plan. This format addresses all components of the company(not just marketing and sales) and encompasses both the strategies and the supporting tactics necessaryto make your plan a living document—a tool for managing the growth and success of your company.3. There is no management process in place to support plan implementation. Once the plan isdeveloped, you need to implement a process for managing the plan to success. You cannot put the planon the shelf and expect success at the end of the year—the plan needs regular attention throughout theyear. You must hold yourself accountable to take the steps necessary to implement your plan. In largercompanies, the senior staff members will take on the responsibility to implement various portions of theplan. It's up to you to hold your managers accountable for achieving those objectives they take on. Inaddition, regular reviews of the progress toward attaining the plan's objectives must take place. Part 4presents the process for managing your plan to success.4. The plan action items lack priority. The necessary tactical actions to be taken to implement the planusually take a back seat to the pressing demands of day-to-day business. Most senior managers viewplanning actions (e.g., getting that new accounting system in place or developing that new marketingbrochure) as just one more set of things to do. They believe that these action items can be put off untilnext week, next month, or when things "lighten up." A discussion offile:///C|/Documents and Settings/gasanova/Local Settin...Forward_MBA_in_Business_Planning_for_Growth/e-book.html (27 of 219)16.02.2005 13:54:23
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Philip Walcoff - "The Fast Forward MBA in Business Planning for ...

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