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Quote:

"You can never plan the future by the past "

Edmund Burke

Business & Strategic Planning

Most business plans are financially dominated which at best provide a budget against which to measure progress and success and at worst are out of date as soon as they are written.They are often overtaken by the 'real world' and left to collect dust in the desk drawer or filing cabinet; occasionally seeing the light of day to show a bank manager or investor! ie they are most often a total waste of time, effort and money.

A good 'strategic' business plan should be a 'live' document kept on the desk top that provides your business journey's 'route map' connecting where the enterprise is at now with where you want it to be in 3-5 years time. As such it must be regularly updated with new information as you experience your journey.

Such a plan should therefore have the following key features and benefits:

It is process driven as a 'live' desk top programme and is the route map for converting your entrepreneurial innovation and creativity into commercial benefit and value

It establishes consensus by providing a sense of purpose, direction and focus with which the senior team is fully aligned and committed

It provides for efficient and effective, yet flexible organisational and resource alignment

It defines the ‘business of the business’ and identifies the key value drivers of the enterprise upon which business sustainability is built

It identifies the major non-financial assets and activities in the enterprise to balance financial metrics and outcomes

It links strategic initiatives (longer term) with the tactical (short term) implementation and activity programme

It establishes benchmarks against which to measure progress and value creation as well as accommodate change

It records 'futuristic' best guess assumptions which enable informed decision making to respond rapidly to change and risk

It links major departmental strategies for more efficient and effective alignment; destroying silos and debilitating 'hidden/personal' agendas

It facilitates financial budgeting for improved pro-active control of cause-effect decisions with the focus on value creation and not just short-term cost or P&L

It defines your risk 'appetite' within the bounds of invested resource and capacity associated with your risk - reward ambitions.

It simplifies performance management for cascading throughout the organisation, identifying cause-effect dynamics and aligns resource and activities for maintaining progress towards the Vision

It provides credibility and confidence to potential funders and investors that you know your business, you know where you are at, you know where you are going, you are aware of the risks (as they evolve) and have a process in place to manage the journey of how you are going to get there.

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